DOTr to entertain bids to privatize EDSA Bus Carousel in Q1 2023 —Bautista

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is targeting to open the bidding for the privatization of the operations and maintenance of the EDSA Bus Carousel service in the first quarter of 2023.

In a briefing with reporters in Pasay City on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista repeated his earlier remark that the government will privatize the EDSA Busway service next year. 

“We are planning to privatize the EDSA Busway and entertain proposals by first quarter 2023,” he said.

In October, the Transportation chief called for the conduct of a feasibility study on the proposed privatization of the EDSA Busway System amid calls from business and advocacy groups to privatize the service to improve commuters’ experience. 

Sought for further details, Bautista told reporters that the conduct of feasibility study will be completed within the first three months of 2023, after which the DOTr will invite interested parties to bid for the privatization of the EDSA Carousel or Busway service.

The Transportation chief said the DOTr is also drafting a terms of reference for the concession agreement of the EDSA Busway System.

“We will invite interested parties to participate in the bidding of the concession agreement,” he said, adding that the terms of the concession deal will cover the operations and maintenance as well as “construction of additional infrastructure” for the busway system.

Bautista added that the company who will bag the contract of the EDSA Busway service will be required to conform with a set of “standards,” which the DOTr is also creating.

As to the possibility of a fare increase, the DOTr has said it would be highly regulated and under the jurisdiction of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.

The government has been offering free rides on the EDSA Bus Carousel under its “Libreng Sakay” program, which is set to end on December 31, 2022.

Under the program, the government taps buses to provide free rides to commuters.

According to the DOTr, the EDSA Bus Carousel accommodates around 320,000 to 390,000 passengers daily. — BM, GMA Integrated News