MANILA – The Mega Manila Consortium Corporation has thrown its weight behind Department of Transportation (DOTr) Secretary Giovanni Lopez, rejecting a proposal to open the EDSA Busway to private carpooling.
The group, led by President Shiela Pascual-Alberto, issued a statement supporting the DOTr’s firm “no” to the plan by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA). The proposal, floated by MMDA General Manager Nicolas Torre, suggested allowing vehicles with at least 10 passengers to use the dedicated lane.
“We believe that permitting special access on the EDSA Busway is not the solution to road congestion,” the consortium stated. “Our simple call is: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
Lopez previously argued that the EDSA Carousel was designed to move people, not cars, serving up to 300,000 commuters daily. He warned that even high-occupancy private vehicles would inevitably slow down bus operations and defeat the lane’s purpose.
The Mega Manila Consortium joins other major transport groups—including the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP), Pasang-Masda, and the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP)—in voicing concerns that the move is prone to abuse by “mindless motorists” and would only congest the currently efficient one-lane system.