PUJ stops eyed as traffic solution

Transport leaders have agreed to the establishment of loading and unloading bays for public utility jeepneys (PUJ) plying Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to España Boulevard in Manila and vice versa to help improve traffic on the busy route.

Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) General Manager Tim Orbos said on Sunday that the agency held a meeting with several PUJ groups on Friday as part of the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic’s efforts to ease congestion in the metropolis.

“We need to end the days of picking up and dropping off passengers anywhere,” Orbos said in a statement, noting that this was one of the causes of heavy traffic.

The location of the jeepney stops will be identified in coordination with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and local government units concerned.

Leaders of Pasang Masda, the Land Transportation Organization of the Philippines, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines attended the consultation meeting, the MMDA said.

The Commonwealth-España corridor has one of the heaviest concentrations of passenger jeepneys in Metro Manila, servicing mostly students and workers, according to Orbos.

He added that the designated stops were also aimed at instilling discipline in motorists and commuters.