TRAVEL time along Edsa has been cut in half
since the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority began
impounding "colorum" or out of line buses last week.
MMDA general manager Robert Nacianceno said
average travel speed along Edsa rose from 22-23 kilometers per
hour to 45-65 kilometers per hour since last week.
He recalled his experience in which a trip to
Visayas ave. in Quezon City from Buendia in Makati City took 40
minutes earlier than he expected.
He said the MMDA had impounded almost 200
buses without a proper franchise, which was part of preparations
for the Organized Bus Route (OBR) scheme that would use radio
frequency ID tags to identify legally operating buses.
But Nacianceno admitted that the shorter
travel time could also be attributed to expected relaxed traffic
the summer vacation.
Although the scheme was praised by many
sectors, provincial bus operators cried foul over the
spray-painting of towed buses with "out of line".
Nacianceno dismissed the complaints, saying
it was within the MMDA’s mandate to ensure that only buses with
proper papers could ply major thoroughfares.
Roberto Esquivel, acting director of the MMDA
Traffic Operations Center, admitted that in the past, some of
the bus operators had government "connections" government and
were not apprehended.
MMDA officials said traffic along Edsa and
other major thoroughfares in the metropolis is further expected
to improve starting next month when the agency implements the
enhanced OBR.
Once the OBR using radio frequency identification technology
is operational, colorum bus units can easily be identified and
apprehended since they will be unable to pass through designated
bus terminals, control stations and bus stops, they said. –
Ashzel Hachero
