The Quezon City government will soon roll out its City Bus Augmentation Program to provide additional means of transportation to commuters and help ease traffic congestion.
Mayor Joy Belmonte signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) for the Quezon City Bus Augmentation Program, which is expected to begin on the first week of December.
“Dahil limitado pa rin ang mga pampublikong sasakyan sa lungsod, nagpasya tayong gawin ang hakbang na ito upang maibsan ang problema sa transportasyon sa ating lungsod,” said Belmonte.
“Sa pamamagitan nito, mabibigyan natin ng mas mabilis at ligtas na paraan na pagbiyahe ang publiko patungo sa kanilang mga hanapbuhay at iba pang lugar na kailangan nilang puntahan,” she added.
The Mayor said the bus program is open to the public during its initial run but will eventually become exclusive for QC residents with QCitizen ID.
Under the said bus program, the LTFRB will issue a Certificate to the City permitting it to operate the eight routes that the City Bus Augmentation Program will cover.
The routes are as follows: Quezon City Hall to Cubao P. Tuazon corner Gen. P. Romulo Ave. (and vice versa), QC Hall to Litex (and vice versa), Welcome Rotonda to Aurora Blvd. cor. Katipunan Ave. (and vice versa), QC Hall to Gen. Luis via SB Road (and vice versa), QC Hall to Mindanao Ave. cor. Quirino Highway (and vice versa), QC Hall to LRT 2 Gilmore (and vice versa), QC Hall to E. Rodriguez Jr. Ave cor. Ortigas Ave. (and vice versa), and QC Hall to LRT 1 Roosevelt and back to QC Hall.
According to Assistant City Administrator for Operations Alberto Kimpo, the program will also help ease traffic congestion in Quezon City as it adopts a more efficient mode of transportation that enables the limited road space to be used more productively.
“The program will follow a bus trip schedule and buses will stop only at designated pick-up and drop-off points along their routes,” Kimpo explained.
The City bus routes are connected to the Bike Lane Program that is also being implemented by the City Government. The initial phase of the said Bike Lane Program will commence on three major thoroughfares (Commonwealth Avenue, Quezon Memorial Circle Elliptical Road, and Quezon Avenue) very soon. Both these programs will help decongest the City’s roads as it encourages citizens to leave their cars at home and ride their bikes or take the bus en route to their destination.
Task Force for Transport and Traffic Management, headed by Mr. Dexter Cardenas, will spearhead the actual on-ground operations of the City Bus Augmentation Program. The Task Force shall also ensure that minimum health standards will be implemented, such as physical distancing, temperature checks, sanitation, and filling out of contact tracing form for each passenger.
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