The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is backing the bus reduction scheme of Land Transportation, Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) along Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (EDSA).

Angelito Vergel De Dios, MMDA Traffic Operations Center executive director, said reducing the number of buses plying along EDSA would pave the way for bus operators to maximize the load capacity of their units.

He noted that the 5,000 buses plying the busiest thoroughfare in the metropolis are too many to serve the number of commuters.

This is also the reason for MMDA’s Organized Bus Route program that regulates the dispatch of buses from designated terminals to control the number of buses on EDSA and other major thoroughfares. Buses are fielded on intervals, depending on passenger volume in certain areas.

De Dios said the LTFRB plan to reduce the number of buses on EDSA will not affect the existing schemes the MMDA is implementing on EDSA, such as the OBR, no physical contact apprehension scheme, and the installation of closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras in strategic areas on the 24-kilometer thoroughfare that monitor the traffic situation.

“It won’t affect the existing traffic regulations and schemes along EDSA or any major thoroughfare where there is a plan to trim down buses,” said De Dios.

De Dios said, that next week bus drivers plying the metropolis will be facing a stricter scheme to discipline errant drivers with the pilot testing of a technologically-enhanced OBR system which will be initially tested on four bus terminals in Metro Manila, including Baclaran, Alabang, Malabon and Fairview .

Under the new scheme, De Dios said that once a bus enters an OBR terminal, its entry will be recorded by the RFID reader. Each bus is given five- to 10-minute intervals to load or unload passengers.

Each OBR terminal will have built-in readers of Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), microchip tracking devices installed on buses operating in Metro Manila.

De Dios said the RFID-equipped buses will be continuously tracked by the MMDA Metrobase until they pass through the next designated loading bays. An OBR terminal/ loading is also equipped with cameras connected to Metrobase.

“There’s no escape here. Once a bus enters an OBR terminal, it will be required to go to the next loading bay. The RFID will keep track of all its movements,” he said.

The RFID will keep a record of the buses’ entry and exit from terminals. At the end of the day, the MMDA will be able to determine if an erring bus driver bypasses a certain terminal, which constitutes an OBR violation that has a corresponding fine of P1,000, according to De Dios.