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The proposed privatization of the EDSA Busway System will go through a feasibility study, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said.

“We have requested the PPP (Public-Private Partnership) Center to set aside funds for the feasibility study,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said during the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines-MVP Group Infrastructure Forum in Pasay City on Monday.

Over a dozen business and advocacy groups are calling for the privatization of the busway system to improve commuters’ experience.

Bautista said a feasibility study for the privatization of the EDSA Busway System is needed since it “will be subjected to the approval of the NEDA (National Economic and Development Authority).”

The feasibility study will look into how privatization can make the busway system more efficient and more affordable for the commuting public, he added.

The government is currently offering free rides on EDSA Busway under its “Libreng Sakay” program until December 31, 2022. Under the program, the government hires buses to provide free rides to commuters.

Business groups, citing data from the DOTR, said that the EDSA Busway System carried an average of 325,000 passengers daily in August 2022, even with only 550 buses committed to its operations, compared to the pre-pandemic level of 3,300 units.

The groups said that commuters deserve a busway system that is on par with comparable systems in other countries, citing the Jakarta Busway, which has the longest system in the world, and the Guangzhou System, which is recognized as “the gold standard.”