To shorten the distance commuters walk to the nearest Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) station, buses going to Sapang Palay village in San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan to SM Fairview in Novaliches village, Quezon City will be allowed to pick up and drop off passengers along NIA Road during rush hours.
Department of Transportation (DOTr) acting chief Giovanni Lopez ordered the issuance of 268 permits for buses from the Sayang Palay-Fairview route to pass by the NIA Road.
Starting this month, DOTr said they will be allowed to ply the area from 4-8 a.m. and 5-8 p.m.
The DOTr gave permits to these buses with routes looping from Sapang Palay or SM Fairview, passing through Commonwealth Avenue, East Avenue, Internal Road, NIA Road and vice versa.
‘This needs to be done so that the passengers will not walk a long distance, especially those transferring going to MRT-3,’ Lopez said in a statement in Filipino.
The MRT-3 Quezon Avenue Station is about a kilometer away from NIA Road.
‘The long walk just to get on the bus is hard for passengers and is especially hard for seniors and PWDs. That’s why the bus stop should be closer to the MRT so they can easily transfer,’ he also said.
Despite being allowed to solicit and drop off passengers there, DOTr said buses will neither be allowed to stay in the area for too long nor are they allowed to turn it into a terminal.
Lopez also ordered the deployment of four personnel each from the Philippine Coast Guard and Land Transportation Office to ensure that the buses will only stay along NIA Road for less than three minutes.
Meanwhile, DOTr said the assessment in the coming months will decide if the scheme will be stopped or will continue.