Dizon, as new DOTr chief, defends EDSA Busway amid calls for its removal

February 21, 2025 | 5:26pm

MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation has acknowledged the public's need for the EDSA busway weeks after the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority proposed to remove the dedicated bus land.

Recently appointed Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon doubled down on the agency's stance that the busway is crucial to commuters.

"The value of the busway is really for the commuter, because you go through it directly almost. Even if it is not perfect, your travel time becomes somewhat more predictable,” Dizon said at a Malacañang press briefing after his oath-taking on Friday, January 21.

On February 5, MMDA Chair Romando Artes bared plans to scrap the EDSA busway once the Metro Rail Transit System's’s capacity expands. The proposal was met with a storm of criticisms online and from a senator.

For Dizon, the busway system is a improvement from the time when buses and cars would be on mixed lanes on EDSA.

“We’re going to be working [with] the MMDA and with DPWH (Department of Public Works and Highways) to find solutions to make it better and more efficient,” he said.

Prior to Dizon’s appointment to the helm of the DOTr, his predecessor Jaime Bautista proposed privatizing the EDSA busway. Dizon agreed with the plan.

“I can assure the public that we will—and this is the directive of the President himself—continue to push for PPPs (Public-Private Partnerships), especially in the transport sector, across land, water, and air,” Dizon said.

As part of immediate improvements for the EDSA busway, Dizon suggested implementing stricter timetables for operations to enhance efficiency.