LTO, HPG escorts will help MMDA’s P2P bus service avoid traffic

Metro Manila Development Authority's (MMDA) new point-to-point bus service will be assisted by enforcers and use the yellow service lanes along EDSA to avoid the morning rush, MMDA spokesperson Celine Pialago said in an interview on News To Go.

"May escort po ng LTO [Land Transportation Office] at ng HPG [Highway Patrol Group] at meron pa hong mobile ng LTO, meaning VIP treatment ho yung mangyayari," she continued.

The extra measures are in consideration of the fact that the P2P system aims to help MRT passengers—who choose to ride the trains to avoid street traffic, but who are now delayed by the rail system's constant breakdowns.

The agency will officially launch its P2P service on Friday. Four MMDA buses will offer free rides as part of the program.

Private operators also part of the program

In a later interview with GMA News Online, Pialago also clarified that 20 private bus units will also ply the northbound and southbound routes as part of the program and will charge the same fare as the MRT (P20 and P24) for their destinations.

The commercial buses will have tarpaulin signs identifying them as part of the MMDA's P2P program.

Routes

Southbound buses will start at North Avenue station and stop at Ortigas and Ayala before going back to North Avenue. They will run from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.

Northbound buses will start at Taft Avenue and stop at Ayala, Ortigas and North Avenue. They will be in service from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

Pialago said the buses will not stop at Guadalupe and Quezon Avenue, as earlier reports have stated.

She added that riding the buses takes the same time as riding the MRT, as passengers have a 40-minute waiting time to board a train and a 20-minute travel time to their destination without accounting for service interruptions. — BM, GMA News