SEVERAL officials of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) took public transport to their offices on Thursday after Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez ordered them to do so to personally observe the daily challenges faced by commuters.
Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Steven Pastor began his commute at 6 a.m. by taking a jeepney from Quezon Memorial Circle to Mindanao Avenue, and then walked to the North Avenue Station of the EDSA Busway.
From there, he rode an EDSA carousel bus to Santolan-Annapolis Station and walked to the DOTr office, arriving at 7:40 a.m. He later recommended the deployment of more public utility vehicles (PUVs) on Commonwealth Avenue, the construction of better pedestrian infrastructure, and the addition of more EDSA Busway stations to make the system more accessible.
MRT-3 General Manager Michael Capati also took public transport, boarding the train at Taft Avenue Station after noting that the pedestrian walkway was unclean and being used by street dwellers.
He said MRT-3 would coordinate with the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and the Pasay City government to clear the area of illegal vendors and dwellers to improve commuter safety. He then traveled from Taft Avenue to North Avenue in Quezon City.
Light Rail Transit Authority Administrator Hernando Cabrera likewise followed Lopez’s directive, commuting from Dr. Santos Station of LRT-1 in Parañaque City at 6:35 a.m. to the LRT-1 EDSA Station. He then crossed to Taft Avenue and took a jeepney to Aurora Boulevard in Pasay City, where his office is located.
Other senior transport officials joined the initiative. Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan and Assistant Secretary Eduardo Danilo Macabulos rode a modern jeepney to Shaw Boulevard before transferring to MRT-3, while Undersecretary for Road Transport and Non-Infrastructure Ramon Reyes traveled from MRT-3 Guadalupe to Santolan-Annapolis, interacting with passengers along the way.
The commuting exercise followed a memorandum issued by Lopez on Sept. 15, which required road and rail sector officials to take public transport at least once a week and submit weekly reports on their observations and recommendations. The directive came after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. called on the DOTr to find immediate solutions to ease the plight of commuters.
Lopez himself had earlier commuted during rush hour, describing his experience riding a crowded bus along Commonwealth Avenue as “quite chaotic, it’s like war.”
The initiative also drew attention to long-standing problems in the public transport system, including insufficient bus and train capacity, long passenger queues, and poorly maintained pedestrian walkways. Rehabilitation works are currently underway at several EDSA Busway stations — including Monumento, Bagong Barrio, North Avenue, and Guadalupe — to improve accessibility with new concourses, footbridges, and facilities such as lifts and ramps.
