Marked govt vehicles barred from using EDSA bus lane starting next week

STARTING Monday next week, marked government vehicles will no longer be allowed to use the exclusive bus lane along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority said yesterday.

“Starting Monday, clearly-marked government vehicles are barred from using the EDSA bus carousel lane,” MMDA chief Romando Artes said in a press briefing yesterday, adding the agency’s traffic enforcers will strictly enforce the prohibition.

Under current rules, the EDSA bus carousel lane is exclusive for public utility buses but ambulances and marked government vehicles responding to emergency situations are allowed to pass through.

Artes said a memorandum issued by Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista last Wednesday stated that only authorized public utility buses, emergency vehicles, as well as vehicles ferrying the President, Vice President, Senate President, House Speaker, and Chief Justice are allowed to use the carousel lane.

Asked about vehicles ferrying senators or congressmen, Artes said they are included in the DOTr memorandum.

The vehicles of Cabinet officials, senators or congressmen or those with protocol plates 6, 7 and 8 are not in the list,” Artes said, adding that even Bautista did not ask to be exempt from the prohibition.

MMDA traffic enforcers fined 114 motorists – 50 motorcycle riders and 64 four-wheeled drive vehicles – yesterday for violating the exclusive bus lane.

NAME-DROPPERS

TWO drivers who name-dropped Sen. Ramon “Bong” Revilla Jr. to escape being fined for violating the exclusive bus lane surrendered to the MMDA yesterday afternoon.

The two appeared before Artes at the agency’s head office in Pasig City, hours after the MMDA chief announced that the owner of the vehicles that were flagged down by their traffic enforcers on the EDSA northbound bus lane in Mandaluyong City reached out to him through a common friend.

The two were issued traffic violation tickets and fined P5,000 each.

“The two drivers admitted that Sen. Revilla was not onboard their vehicle when they were flagged down by traffic enforcers implementing the EDSA bus lane regulation,” Artes said, adding they also verified that Revilla is not the owner of the