The automation of Metropolitan Manila Development Authority's Organized Bus Route (OBR) faces more delays.

The technologically-enhanced OBR system was supposed to have been launched and tested on four bus terminals in Metro Manila, including Baclaran, Alabang, Malabon, and Fairview last month.

However, Angelito Vergel De Dios, Traffic Operations Center (TOC) Executive Director, said they are still ironing the new system due to technical problems, with the help of a newly hired technical working group.

“Hopefully by the end of the month, we will start the pilot testing of the full automation of the OBR project. There are several details that must be looked into before giving it a green light,” said De Dios.

Each OBR terminal will have built-in readers of Radio Frequency Identification Device (RFID), a microchip tracking device installed on about 2,600 buses operating in Metro Manila, De Dios said.

“Initially, we will start on four terminals, preferably along EDSA. We have installed servers there that will be able to track and record RFID-equipped buses passing through our OBR terminals,” De Dios said.

Under the new mechanics, 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.

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.

Each bus’s exit from the terminal is controlled by Metrobase, the MMDA’s command and communication center in Guadalupe, Makati City, which will dispatch the buses depending on the current traffic condition along the routes.

The OBR was introduced by MMDA Chairman Bayani Fernando in 2003 and aimed to regulate the dispatch of buses from designated terminals so as to control the number of buses on EDSA and other major thoroughfares. Buses are fielded on intervals, depending on passenger volume in certain areas.