The Makati local government unit is evaluating a proposal from a consortium of companies through the Public-Private Partnership Center, on the development of a new bus system within the city to ease traffic congestion.
The Makati Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is an estimated P17.76 billion project that proposes the use of electric buses with dedicated lanes and two main routes/lines—we’ll get more into these in a second. According to the project brief in a report by the Manila Bulletin, the Makati BRT will use a ‘build-operate-transfer’ scheme wherein the proponent designs, constructs, and maintains the project for a certain period before transferring it to the city government.
The two proposed lines are as follows:
Line 1 is a 9.2km stretch (6.9km of which will use a dedicated bus lane) that goes through:
- Ayala Avenue
- Buendia Avenue
- Makati Avenue
- Palm Drive
- East Street
Line 2, meanwhile, covers 8.3km (6.2km proposed for the bus lane), passing through:
- Ayala Avenue
- Makati Avenue
- J.P. Rizal Street
- Trabajo Street
- Hippodromo Street
- A.P. Reyes Street
- Chino Roces Avenue
- Kalayaan Avenue
- South Avenue
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Both lines are round-trip journeys, with buses operating from 5am to 11pm daily. The consortium estimates a total end-to-end travel time of around 25.3 minutes for Line 1 and 23 minutes for Line 2, with buses expected to arrive every 1.5 to 2.5 minutes. With both routes running, the proponent expects the project to serve 13,000 passengers per hour.
As for the actual buses, the Makati BRT fleet will consist of low-floor, 18-meter articulated electric buses (the ones with an accordion-like section in the middle) to carry a large number of passengers. The project also proposes bus stations, fleet management and operational control systems, specialized traffic-signal systems, and support for charging and maintenance facilities.
The Makati BRT project is still in pre-development, so there are no details regarding timelines or bus fares just yet. We’ll keep you posted once we get more updates. If you commute to and from Makati often, what do you think of this proposal? Is there anything you would suggest? Share them in the comments section.
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