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How about a pop-up BRT along Commonwealth Avenue?
I posted this map on social media showing a possible route for a pop-up BRT (Bus Rapid Transit) along Commonwealth Avenue. This was inspired by the reports this week of the horrendous experience of commuters along this corridor due to the current fuel crisis. It seems that a lot of people have reduced their use of private vehicles in favor of what they thought was adequate public transportation only to find out how lacking the supply was.
While this route can be extended (all the way to Fairview via Regalado, for example), I think the one in the map below would be able to capture a majority of the commuters along the corridor with the end at Dona Carmen being a drop-off/pick-up area for those residing to the north. Quezon City Hall and the Elliptical Road is a no-brainer since the Quezon City Bus service terminates here and people can transfer to one of the other lines that will allow them to travel elsewhere covered by the bus network. Quezon City or DOTr can lease buses and come up with a service contracting scheme to sustain operations. The idea is to first run this pop-up BRT while the crisis in Iran is ongoing. Data collection and assessments should coincide with this to refine the service and perhaps, make recommendations for sustaining this service at least until MRT 7 gets online.
The idea of a pop-up BRT is not really new as there were “proof of concept” runs along Commonwealth and at BGC many years ago. Unfortunately, the BRTs never came to be in both cases; both now missed opportunities as we have come to realize. It’s still a long way before the MRT 7 is up and running. The recent announcement from the proponent that they will probably start operations next year is perceived by many as too late. Government, both national and local, need to be decisive if they want people to be able to go to their workplaces and schools. Maybe this is another opportunity for the more than 70% public transport users to be provided with the services they need while taking advantage of road space being freed up from car dominance?
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Some thoughts and reflections on transport and the Middle East crisis
Much has been said and written about the ongoing crisis brought about by the US and Israel attacking Iran and the latter retaliating. The prices of fuel have risen rapidly over the past weeks. Consequently, the prices of commodities have also risen. The Philippines is still very much dependent of fossil fuels for transportation with most travel using road-based transport. Even public transportation relies heavily on fossil fuels as buses and jeepneys are mostly using diesel engines. Even paratransit such as trikes and motorcycle taxis use gasoline.
While the energy mix in the country has become more diversified with renewables now having a substantial share, majority of power is produces using coal and natural gas. And so e-powered vehicles are also ultimately dependent on these fuels. Could we have had better transport that could have made our cities more resilient in light of the conflict in the Middle East? Probably, and if we followed and implemented the plans for mass transit systems that were laid out decades ago. Of course, this is already moot and academic given the current situation. The counterfactuals though point to better commuting conditions if projects have not been delayed or shelved.
A colleague and I were just discussing about how MRT 7 could have contributed to the reduction of car use along the Commonwealth Avenue corridor if it was completed according to the original schedule. That was 2019. Even with delays including the impact of the pandemic, it could have been completed a few years ago. If it was operational in 2023, commuters could have already shifted to rail from both private and public road-based transport modes. There was also actually a proposal for a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line along Commonwealth about 2 decades ago. That could have been constructed and operational ahead of Line 7 and could have already disrupted commuting preferences along the corridor if it were operated as a true BRT.
There’s just a lot of opportunities already missed that could have alleviated the fuel crisis we have now. Maybe we are really heading towards a bigger crisis when all these price increases lead to a more sweeping increase in the prices of commodities? We hope it doesn’t come to that but we seem to be helpless in this situation where we are caught unprepared for a war we are have nothing to do with.
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At long last, the Cebu BRT is finally running
After more than two decades, the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is finally operational (partly). I think I wrote about the BRT numerous times here. I was involved in the social marketing of the BRT to major cities almost 2 decades ago. At that time, only Cebu City was receptive to the idea as Metro Manila was more engrossed with railway projects that also took much gestation time. I was also involved in the pre-FS for Metro Manila BRT’s so I can say this has a lot of history and political economy about it.
Here is a report from Rappler via their official Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1J3Fpmar16/
I already look forward to the next trip to Cebu to have a first hand experience of the BRT there. I wanted to share photos from the internet here but perhaps I can wait til I have my own photos to share.
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AI for Planners Explained: Urban Digital Twins
We begin February 2026 with an article share. The following article (click the link) is about one artificial intelligence (AI) application relevant to the transportation field:
Source: AI for Planners Explained: Urban Digital Twins
To quote from the article:
“UDTs are already being used for development review, infrastructure planning, climate resilience, and operations. They are not speculative technologies. They are becoming part of how cities represent themselves and make decisions.
If planners treat UDTs as purely technical platforms, they risk losing influence over how problems are framed and solutions evaluated. If planners engage early, they can ensure that these systems reflect planning values like equity, transparency, participation, and long-term thinking.
AI will continue to evolve and UDTs offer a preview of how that evolution may shape planning practice. This does not mean by replacing planners, but by changing how planning knowledge is created, tested, and shared.
The question is not whether cities will build UDTs. Many already are. The real question is whether planners will help decide what those twins are for, and how they improve the quality of life.”
-[Note: UDT is urban digital twin]
Good Transit Is Simple: Lessons in Good Route Design
Here is a quick share of an article on transit route design:
Source: Good Transit Is Simple: Lessons in Good Route Design
I will not preempt the reader (you) on the content but there’s a lot of tips for stop spacing and route design based on the author’s experience in Chicago as transit planner.
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On the chronic congestion along Ortigas Avenue Extension
I previously wrote about the counterflow scheme along Ortigas Avenue Extension. While this is usually implemented during the mornings. A similar scheme is not applied in the afternoons or evenings. Apparently, the directional distribution in the afternoons and evenings is not suitable for a counterflow scheme. The photos below show the typical eastbound traffic as seen from the Manggahan Floodway bridge.
Typical weekday evening traffic along Ortigas Avenue Extension
The photos show that the traffic along the opposing direction (westbound) is as heavy as the eastbound traffic. This means a counterflow scheme similar to that in the mornings cannot be implemented during this period.
I have mentioned in the previous article that the corridor already required a mass transit system since the 1980s. Despite the operations of several bus companies over the past decades, these have not been enough (together with jeepneys and vans) to serve the demand along the corridor. It is not uncommon to find so many people stranded along the corridor and waiting to get a ride even during the early mornings. While Lines 2, 3 and 7 were being constructed, people in Rizal who have long endured the traffic along Ortigas Avenue Extension could only wonder why a transit system has not been provided for them. Will the proposed Line 4 be finally constructed? When will it be completed? What could be the traffic impacts of construction considering the limited space available for the construction? Should commuters prepare for more miserable travel once construction is underway?
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Good Transit is Fun
Here’s a nice read on how transit or public transportation should be fun. People won’t really use public transportation unless they find utility or value in using it.
Source: Good Transit is Fun
I won’t be quoting from the article this time. I’ll let you read it yourself and digest the content.
Happy Sunday!
After getting engrossed with EDSA, is Marcos Highway next?
If you monitored the news articles and social media post over the past two decades, there seems to be an obsession for EDSA. Circumferential Road 4 is the busiest corridor in Metro Manila, stretching across several jurisdictions including Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, Makati and Pasay City. Aside from the MMDA, national agencies like the DPWH and DOTr have been heavily involved in traffic schemes and transportation infrastructure development along the corridor. These include variants of the travel demand management (TDM) scheme commonly called number coding. Since the 1990s, there’s the Line 3 and several overpasses/flyovers and underpass that have been constructed along major intersections (e.g., EDSA-Shaw, EDSA-Ortigas, EDSA-Kamuning, EDSA-Quezon Avenue, etc.). Nowadays, people are more into the EDSA carousel and most recently the pavement rehabilitation for EDSA. It seems we failed to realize that EDSA is just one corridor. There are others that also demand attention including those in other parts of the country.
Recently, a “carmaggedon” along Marcos Highway was in the headlines or shall I say was trending in social media. There was a lot of excitement for what has been a recurring nightmare to those residing along the corridor. I recall something worse occurred more than 15 years ago (pre-Ondoy), before social media and influencers and digital creators. At the time, Line 2 terminated at Santolan Station. And even back then, the MMDA insisted on playing with their U-turn scheme. I don’t recall a more in-depth study that could have involved micro-simulation modeling being done for the corridor. And since then, populations and traffic have grown steadily and as I’ve written about previously, the extension of Line 2 to Masinag seems to have had little impact on traffic. And so here we are with the MMDA still insisting on tweaking their U-turn schemes and relying mainly on gut-feel instead of a more scientific approach that may actually lead to more sound solutions for the corridor.
Approach to Marcos Highway from Felix Avenue – that’s the elevated Line 2 superstructure behind the Cainta arch.
Intersection of Marcos Highway, Felix Avenue and Gil Fernando Avenue – there’s a major foot bridge installed here so people can cross at the intersection, which used to be a signalized junction before the MMDA opted for U-turns for Marcos Highway sections under its jurisdiction.
Marcos Highway section fronting the Ayala Feliz Mall – the MMDA has played with the location of the U-turn slots in the vicinity of the Marcos Highway-Amang Rodriguez-J.P. Rizal intersection as they tried to determine the “optimum” locations of these slots.
Of course, there is also the case of Commonwealth Avenue. How many carmaggedons have occurred along that corridor? Isn’t it an everyday thing there? And there’s also Ortigas Avenue Extension and many other roads and streets where congestion seems to have been accepted as the norm. How do we make travel easier for most people? How do we improve commutes given the constraints and realities concerning behavior and choices?
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“Nobody Walks Here. It’s Too Hot or Cold or Wet or Dry.”
I’m sharing this article as it provides a clear response to the question about walking under different circumstances. Those circumstances include weather conditions. How many times have we heard people saying “people won’t walk because it’s too hot or rainy” ? Maulan (rainy)! Mainit (too hot)! And yet we find a lot of people walking, even when its extremely hot or the rains are pouring.
Source: “Nobody Walks Here. It’s Too Hot or Cold or Wet or Dry.”
Quoting from the article:
“The human ability to adapt is the key to our spectacular success on this planet. Our problem is that the people who lead our public conversations, our elites of wealth and opinion, are often some of the least adaptable people on earth. And when societies assume that we should listen to those people, we all end up internalizing the message that there’s something wrong with us if we even try to walk…
…Sometimes walking a few blocks is the key to liberty and prosperity in someone’s life. Most people do what makes sense in the place where they live. Only if we recognize that will we make the investments in urban design to make walking more bearable in extreme weather. And only then will our cities include everyone.”
Here’s another quote and a take on what certain people say that often influences our choice for walking:
“The functionality of a city, and of its transport system, arises from the sum of everyone’s choices about how to travel, not just the preferences of elites. When elites make pronouncements about what “people” will tolerate, while really speaking only of themselves, they mislead us about how cities actually succeed. They also demean the contributions of the vast majority of people who are in fact tolerating extreme weather to do whatever will give their lives meaning and value.”
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Caught (up) in traffic 