Tags: General News, Legislation
By Alexander Villfania
MANILA CITY, METRO MANILA – The city government of Manila has finally implemented a ban prohibiting the entry of provincial buses in the city.
The ban,which starts April 1, came after long talks between Manila City Mayor Alfredo Lim and bus operators that have regular routes into Manila’s streets, particularly Taft Avenue which is the main thoroughfare for most traffic in the city.
Lim has been eyeing a ban against provincial buses plying Manila since 2008, having received complaints from motorists and residents about the city’s worsening traffic situation, especially in its main road. Many have complained that provincial buses load and unload commuters in the middle of the street, thereby causing traffic.
Lim also received complaints about certain bus operators illegally creating their own terminals in Manila. He has also been criticized for not acting sooner on the bus ban.
He had earlier implemented a bus ban during the time of then President Fidel Ramos in the early 1990s. This was later rescinded but continued on and off for a few years. Some commuters who live in provinces but work in Manila complained against the bus ban, stating that their convenience to get to their offices was cut short.
There have also been debates in certain forums, such as Pinoyexchange.com, among people who support the bus ban in Manila and those who don’t agree to it.
Bus ban has always been a subject of contention among legislators and bus operators in Metro Manila. The volume of buses plying the main roads of the metro, especially along EDSA Avenue, has been traditionally accused of causing much of the traffic, especially in intersections where buses use the time to fill up empty seats.
There had been many attempts at reducing traffic. For instance, a few years back, the Metro Manila Development Authority, implemented the yellow lane system along EDSA that divided the public commuter vehicles from private cars. Still, this was thought to be ineffective as said by blogger PinoyDad, who showed pictures of buses swerving outside the yellow lanes.
Statistics from the MMDA, collated by GMA News, showed that there has been an increase in accidents involving buses in Metro Manila over the past few years. Between January and May 2009, there were already 1,480 road incidences related to buses. Perhaps Lim’s implementation of the bus ban would help lower these accidents too.
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