P2P bus service increasing trips, resuming night runs

Starting Monday next week, commuters on Edsa will have more transport options as the point-to-point (P2P) bus service will add more trips in the morning and resume nighttime operations.

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on Wednesday said city and provincial bus operators had committed to provide at least 60 buses as P2Ps, which are offered to MRT 3 riders who wish to avoid the long lines at some stations.

At present, transport officials count on the operators’ participation in the P2P project on a voluntary basis. Such an arrangement limits the number of passengers that can be accommodated.

By guaranteeing the deployment of 60 P2P buses, at least 3,360 passengers can be assured that they could get to their destination conveniently and on time, according to TJ Batan, transport undersecretary for rails.

The P2P buses will continue to pick up MRT passengers at North Avenue and Quezon Avenue stations during the morning rush hour. Starting Monday, however, all of the 60 buses will be required to make a second trip so that more passengers can be served.

For a faster turnaround, the buses will have to leave for Quezon City even if they are empty, Batan said.

To compensate the bus operators, the government will allow their buses to ply their regular routes once the morning bus service has ended, even if these buses are banned on the road under the number coding scheme. The units will be given proper signage to avoid being flagged down by traffic enforcers.

During the evening rush hour, Batan said, the buses will wait for MRT passengers at Taft Avenue and Ayala Avenue stations. Due to lack of space at Taft, Batan said they are looking at Macapagal Avenue as a possible staging area. At Ayala, the loading area will be the current bus stop along Edsa.

The northbound buses will drop off passengers at Shaw Boulevard, Cubao and North Avenue. The fare stays at P15.

Since the provincial buses which will participate in the project could not ply their routes for the day, the DOTr will have to subsidize their operations at P9 per passenger. This means that for each trip of a 45-seater provincial bus, for example, the government will have to shell out P405.

Batan said the expenses incurred for the project would be charged to the MRT’s operations budget. Depending on the upgrade of the trains in the coming weeks and the demand for P2Ps, the service will remain in effect until April, he added.