Recently, former Senator and now senatorial candidate Panfilo Lacson made a bold suggestion to halt the increasing incidents of private vehicles entering the EDSA Busway, despite official prohibitions.
His suggestion: why not make buses go in the opposite direction? Like, northbound buses could go to the southbound lane, and vice versa.
Some netizens have laughed off the suggestion as an astronomical impossibility, while other thoughtful minds have seriously embraced the idea.
So could it be done? My answer to that would be: Yes, but…
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I myself had thought of the idea of having buses go the opposite direction along the Busway, in order to accommodate the buses that were deployed along the fenced-off bus lane.
The EDSA Busway is currently restricted to low-floor buses, and even though many companies have had purchased low-floor buses before the Covid-19 pandemic as part of the government’s aggressive public transport modernization program, they were still configured for regular bus services, not a bus rapid transit (BRT).
This meant that most buses have had to be modified to allow for the EDSA Busway, which was on the median lane, through cutting another door at the left side of the buses. When buses from other routes were deployed for “augmentation” at the height of the pandemic, passengers had to cross the lane just to get to the buses, putting them at risk if the bus starts too soon or if an accident occurs.
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And there’s actually a precedent in making buses go the opposite direction. In Buenos Aires, Argentina, for instance, its city buses, popularly known as “colectivos,” go the opposite direction along its main thoroughfare, Avenida 9 de Julio.
Avenida 9 de Julio is one of the widest urban thoroughfares in the world – seven lanes in each direction, with two parallel streets where its colectivos once pass through.
In 2013, as part of an extensive urban renewal program, the Metrobus was constructed along its median lane where regular buses can pass through. The new three-kilometer BRT lane halved journey times by 15 minutes and ensured that commuters have a safe place to get inside buses.
To solve the issue of buses having to go back to their regular routes, the direction of buses passing through the BRT lane was reversed, with separate lanes allowing buses to resume normal direction at the end of the BRT lane. This meant that buses need not be modified to pass through the bus lane, saving operators money and effort.
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Of course, the main issue with the EDSA Busway is that unlike the Avenida 9 de Julio, there’s already infrastructure at the median – the MRT Line 3 – that prevents further modification or widening of the bus lane.
Not to mention car-centric kooks who even had the temerity to suggest that we go back to the chaos of the “old normal” and do away entirely with the dedicated bus lane!
Let’s face it: it’s going to take millions and millions of pesos in retrofitting EDSA – not to mention causing major traffic jams – for the government to implement this, if Lacson’s proposal gets adopted.
But this is where the people leading our urban renewal efforts should have the balls to go against public opinion and spearhead long-term solutions that, while a headache from the start, should benefit all commuters in the long run.
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