QUEZON CITY, PIA- The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) supposedly continues to finds ways to ease traffic in Metro Manila.
One of the solutions being eyed by the DOTC is the completion of Metro Manila’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) system in three years.
In a statement, Secretary Joseph Emilio Abaya said the P4.9-billion BRT System for Metro Manila will be presented to President Aquino in the next meeting of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Board.
Abaya said, the 27.7-kilometer BRT system will run from Quirino Highway to Manila City Hall, traversing Quezon Avenue. The BRT aims to speed up travel through a higher quality mass public transport system.
He said, the project would field 300 buses along 32 stations and will serve an estimated 279,476 passengers a day when it begins operating in 2018.
Abaya said the corridor is of strategic importance not only because of its high traffic volume, but also its connection to Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) and the Philippine National Railways (PNR).
The Metro Manila BRT will be the country’s second after a similar facility being put up in Cebu that secured World Bank financing.
Compared with a rail service, a BRT would cost 5-10 percent lower and would take less time (around 2 years) to construct. (DOTC/RJB/SDL/PIA-NCR)
