Up next: Caloocan terminal for buses from north Luzon

The government effort to limit the number of buses plying Edsa turns to the north.

After recently opening a second temporary bus terminal in the southern entry point to the capital, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said another transport hub for provincial buses coming from the north would be operational starting next month in Caloocan City.

The North Interim Bus Terminal (NIPBT) would be set up on a one-hectare lot near the Monumento rotunda and in front of the Manila Central University (MCU) Hospital to keep at least 376 buses from adding to the daily traffic jams in the metropolis.

In a meeting on Thursday, MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino, Caloocan City Mayor Oscar Malapitan, Malabon City Mayor Antolin Oreta, Navotas City Mayor John Rey Tiangco and Land Transportation and Franchising Board (LTFRB) Winston Ginez jointly announced that the private lot should be prepared before the end of September to serve as the end-point for buses coming from Pangasinan, Tarlac and other northern Luzon provinces.

It will be specifically for buses that do not have designated terminals within Metro Manila and had been illegally passing through Edsa, Tolentino said.

The MMDA and the concerned local government units would work together to “flatten and tidy up” the empty lot in three weeks, he added.

A system will also be put in place to make it easy for disembarking passengers to access a jeepney terminal on the eastern side of the lot, the Light Rail Transit (LRT1) and city buses reaching the Monumento rotunda.

On Wednesday, the MMDA together with the Muntinlupa City government opened the South Interim Provincial Terminal in Alabang for the 556 buses from Southern Luzon which do not have proper terminals at their end-points in Metro Manila, like the Market! Market! and Food Terminal Inc. (FTI) area in Taguig City.

Another temporary terminal was established last year on Coastal Road, Parañaque City, for about 1,000 buses coming from the southwest routes like Cavite and Batangas provinces.

The interim terminals were opened after Metro Manila mayors, the MMDA and LTFRB agreed to ban provincial buses from plying Edsa to reduce the volume of vehicles on the country’s busiest thoroughfare.

“These terminals are temporary and will cease operations once the construction of the integrated transport hubs are completed. Everyone, including the bus operators, drivers, passengers and the government need to adjust and cooperate so we can have discipline and order on our roads,” Tolentino said.