Disciplining city buses revealed the obvious

As funny as it may sound, some people, including some drivers actually think that the reason for the everyday traffic standstill along major thoroughfares including the stretch of Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue or EDSA, are us motorcycle riders because of our sheer numbers. Yesterday, in a social media post by Edison 'Bong' Nebrija, MMDA's Chief Traffic Inspector, he showed that he means business as he corralled the city buses plying the avenue to where they should be in the first place – the yellow lane. The result? A free-flowing traffic along EDSA in miraculous proportions, considering that it was a Monday.

EDSA's yellow lanes had been in place for years now, and city buses are supposed to stick only within these first two designated bus lanes from the shoulder. However, lack of enforcement has led to many of these buses hopping into other lanes, including our designated motorcycle lane, to 'race' with other competitor buses for passengers. More often than not, these same buses also cause bottlenecks along EDSA as they block traffic flow when stopping basically anywhere they want to pick or drop passengers.

Traffic-free EDSA: Yellow Lane strictly enforced image

The new Sheriff's video also revealed that there may be too many buses plying EDSA in relation to commuter demand, as there were quite a lot of buses with very few or without any passengers. He even said in vernacular that these buses “contribute to the traffic standstill”. Bong Nebrija also added that they'll have to discuss the possibility of dispatching buses during specific times in the near future to prevent excessive buses at a given time along EDSA.

Although we motorcycle riders can filter through traffic standstill, a disciplined and traffic-free EDSA will reap many benefits for all its users, including faster and safer travel for us two-wheelers.