Replicating the Efficacy of EDSA Carousel

FIRST: Our roads in general is not as wide as EDSA and could not cater to buses. This is the reason, we think, jeepneys have strived in the past decades. The Metro Manila urban planning simply didn't have the expectation that population will grow as much to what it is now, that is why workarounds with the Filipino Jeepneys has grown as such.

SECOND: But what about major highways like C5, Commonwealth, and Marcos Highway? Surely, we could apply the Carousel there and it sounds simple, but the reality is much more complicated. Highways like these differ from EDSA in several keyways. EDSA’s 23.8 kms straight stretch route and well-placed footbridges and MRT-3 stations make the fast left most lane accessible. This ideal for an uninterrupted Carousel system. In contrast, Commonwealth (12.7 kms) and C5 (32.5 kms) don’t have that same design.

THIRD: One would say is to utilize the right-most lanes instead—seems like a quick fix, but here’s the catch: other forms of public transportation, like jeepneys and UVs heavily use the right most lanes. Private vehicles also access commercial establishments from the right-most lanes, making a streamlined Carousel difficult. The resulting regulations could disrupt livelihoods and require significant infrastructure changes.

All in all, the barriers we're facing are: Poor long-term urban design, EDSA road design is not universal, and lack of streamlined and dedicated lanes for such solutions. Clearly, copy-pasting the EDSA Carousel solution is not the way to go at the moment. A stronger will and dedication are needed to find the appropriate solution in the Metro Manila traffic problem.

Perhaps the key lies in asking a different question: how can we increase the transportation density of vehicles on Metro Manila’s roads while making it accessible, economical, and practical?

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Replicating the Efficacy of EDSA Carousel

The EDSA Carousel has been a game changer for commuters in Metro Manila. It has not only provided an efficient alternative to the chaotic daily commute but also shifted the way we view public transportation. It is an eye opener on what the problem is: we have too many cars on the road and too little number of people being transported. It is a transportation density problem.

What can we do about the Metro Manila congestion? Allow public transportation with a higher transportation density be streamlined. An optimization approach. The answer seems obvious: streamline public transportation to increase transportation density. Adopting the EDSA Carousel across Metro Manila could be the answer. But why hasn’t this been implemented already?

We thought about this here at Station PTOT, and we ought to bring an answer on why we think it cannot be implemented as easily.