Physical distancing rules violated at EDSA carousel station

Physical distancing measures were violated as a crowd gathered at an EDSA bus carousel stations on Friday evening.

According to John Consulta’s report on “24 Oras Weekend,” a video taken between 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the Ortigas station showed a large crowd of people lining up at the station.

The uploader of the video said he lined up for two hours before he could ride the bus.

Meanwhile, long lines also formed at the MRT Taft Avenue Station. Despite this, passengers were able to maintain their distance from each other.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it was also shocked over the incident.

“Actually, ‘yung kagabi medyo extraordinary sa amin din dahil for the past two months, kagabi lang kami nakakita ng ganoong kadami ng volume,” LTFRB OIC and executive director Joel Bolano said.

(The situation last night is unusual because it’s the first time that we saw that kind of volume.)

The LTFRB said it sees various reasons for the crowding at the carousel stations.

“‘Yung bagal ng pag-dispatch dahil doon sa traffic, Friday pa, umuulan. Isa pa diyan ay free ride kasi itong EDSA carousel kaya gustong-gusto ng ating mga kababayan na doon sumasakay dahil malaking bagay iyon sa kanila,” he said.

(The dispatch was slow because of the traffic. It was also Friday, and it was raining. The EDSA carousel is also a free ride, which is a big help to the public.)

“So isa po ‘yun sa nagpadoble ng volume natin sa EDSA carousel,” he added.

(So this why the volume at the EDSA carousel doubled.)

Meanwhile, Inter-Agency Task Force chief implementer Vince Dizon said that wearing face masks and face shields in such a situation would be of great help.

The LTFRB said it has started taking measures to prevent the same incident from occurring. — DVM, GMA News