ALTHOUGH violators of the EDSA Busway continue to decrease, the chief of the Inter-Agency Council for Traffic (I-ACT) yesterday said the crackdown against those who refuse to follow the traffic policy will be intensified.
I-ACT chief Charlie Del Rosario said they noticed the decrease starting last week when only around 100 violators were apprehended in two days of operation.
“According to our ground commander, last week, in two days of operation, only around 100 were apprehended and issued traffic citation tickets,” Del Rosario told the Laging Handa public briefing, adding the previous violators reached as high as 400.
Del Rosario said the I-ACT is concentrating on “problematic areas” where most violations and apprehensions occur, such as the northbound portion of EDSA Pasay.
“Aside from the P1,000 fine, once the record of the violator is submitted to the Land Transportation Office, there is a demerit point and once it reaches 40 demerit points, the driver’s license can already be canceled,” he said.
Another P150 fine will be meted out against erring motorists for disregarding traffic signs.
Del Rosario reiterated that only the “550 buses authorized” by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and government vehicles on emergency deployment can use the Busway.
“There are no exemptions for private vehicles. Only the buses numbering 550 and authorized by the LTFRB and government vehicles on emergency can use that,” he said.
The EDSA Busway, a dedicated median bus lane in the metropolis’ busiest thoroughfare, had been placed under the Bus Management and Dispatch System (BMDS) of the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority.
The busway launched in June 2020 to provide seamless movement of public utility buses along the 23.8 km-long Edsa, which runs from Caloocan to Paranaque.
