MetroBriefs: Ateneo shuttle program to be expanded

AFTER a two-week trial run, the free shuttle service program of Ateneo de Manila University (AdMU) will be expanded by adding more trips to accommodate college students and employees in line with efforts to ease traffic congestion on Katipunan Avenue in Quezon City.

The trial period saw the ridership increase from less than 50 to about 180 high school students and faculty members, Marcelino Mendoza, director of the AdMU’s Campus Safety and Mobility Office, told the Inquirer on Sunday.

The Ateneo shuttle service program, held in coordination with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), started on June 21 with eight tourist buses picking up high school students free of charge from three hubs—two buses on Temple Drive, two at SM Marikina and four in UP-Ayala Technohub—in 15-minute intervals.

A return trip in the afternoon will be launched this week for employees and college students taking summer classes, Mendoza said.

The number of riders is expected to increase in August when regular classes open for college students. Mendoza said that return trips to the three hubs would probably be scheduled at 5:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. “The planning and implementation is in progress.

We are still conducting a survey to determine if we will have a sufficient number to warrant a bus,” he told the Inquirer.

An assessment meeting will be held this week and improvements will be implemented as the trial period continues.

There is no word yet on how much AdMU will charge for the shuttle service since the program is still being fine-tuned, Mendoza said. Erika Sauler

Man attacked by knife-wielder he called ‘addict’

TAKING insult at a comment that he looked like a drug addict, a man known only as Jeff stabbed two other men at a videoke bar in Marikina City on Saturday evening.

Senior Supt. Vincent Calanoga, Marikina police chief, said that the stabbing happened as Saldy Bulacao, 38, from Marikina City and Adrian Bantulay, 27, from Antipolo City, were having a few drinks around 11:30 p.m. at New China Restaurant on JP Rizal in Sto Niño, Marikina.

Earlier, Bulacao approached Jeff, who had just finished singing and told him: “You look like a drug addict. You should mend your ways.”

Apparently taking insult, Jeff approached the victims and tried to stab Bulacao in the neck with a knife, Calanoga said.

Bulacao was able to parry the attack of the suspect who turned his ire on Bantulay, stabbing him several times.

Bantulay was taken to the hospital as the suspect fled. The victims said they do not know Jeff personally but would be able to identify him should they meet again. Jodee A. Agoncillo