P2P buses finally catching on? Ridership up

The point-to-point (P2P) double-decker bus service. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / NINO JESUS ORBETA

More than 19,000 Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT 3) riders opted to take the point-to-point (P2P) bus service on the first week of its return as an alternative to the problem-plagued train system on Edsa.

Officials attributed the increase in P2P ridership to the lowered fare and the growing number of bus operators taking part in the project.

Since the project was rolled out on Feb. 1, the number of buses servicing MRT riders has increased from 25 to 62, and the daily trips got more frequent, from 37 to 84.

When introduced last year, the bus service initially deployed 30 buses but later reduced them to 10 due to low ridership.

It was suspended after the holiday season. Transport officials brought them back last week, cutting the fare from P24 to P15.

The buses pick up passengers at the MRT’s North Avenue and Quezon Avenue stations only during to the morning rush hour. —Jovic Yee