A private company will be taking over the operations and maintenance of the EDSA Bus Carousel service by the first half of next year once the Department of Transportation completes the transfer to a qualified operator.

In an interview with reporters on Wednesday, Transportation Secretary Jaime J. Bautista said the DoTr is preparing the Terms of Reference for the plan.

"The operations and maintenance of the stations will be transferred to the private sector. Maybe even the construction of additional infrastructure. We will set a standard," Bautista told reporters.

Bautista said the DoTr is undertaking a feasibility study about the privatization of the EDSA Busway, which will be complete by the first quarter of 2023.

The study will help determine the standards that the DoTr will implement during the process of passing on the operations and maintenance of the project to the private sector. It will also help ensure that the planned privatization will be beneficial to the riding public.

"Once the feasibility study and ToR are done, we will invite bidders. We will invite interested parties to participate in the bidding of the concession agreement," Bautista said.

The EDSA Busway is a joint undertaking of the DoTr, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority and the Department of Public Works and Highways.

Yesterday, the DoTr opened Tramo Station — the fourth EDSA Busway station opened since July.

The EDSA Busway uses a dedicated median lane for buses with stations built at the median island, allowing for more efficient travel by avoiding conflict with connecting streets, driveways, commercial centers and curbside drop-off points.

The busway system has 17 median stations, four temporary curbside stations, and an Integrated Terminal Exchange.

As of December, the EDSA Busway Project has been catering to an average of 389,579 passengers daily.

End of free bus run

While the DoTr plans to ramp up services of the busway to follow international standards, it announced that the free EDSA Busway rides will only last until the end of December.

Thus, passengers need to pay their fares starting 1 January.

Darren Calina, a 29-year-old commuter from Valenzuela City, uses the EDSA Carousel bus to go to his workplace in Makati City during weekdays. He said the free ride somehow eased his daily allowance.

"The free ride somehow eases my expenses especially if we are to compute the savings on a weekly or monthly basis. But that's not what I want about this program, so I am earning enough so I can cover my fares. The free ride programs mean to me that the government values the commuters," Calina said.

"The end of the free ride program will mean that we will be paying for bus rides again. Hopefully, there will be no fare increases," he added.

The 24/7 free rides at the EDSA Bus Carousel under the Service Contracting Program Phase 3 will end on 31 December.

Beginning early morning of 1 January 2023, the fare from PITX to Monumento and vice versa will be collected again.

Based on the last LTFRB record as of 27 December, the EDSA Bus Carousel recorded a total number of 80,832,186 passengers served by Free Rides.

Eighty-seven operators and 751 public utility buses participated in the program.

With the end of the free bus ride program, the DoTr assured that bus fares will be regulated to avert price hikes and ensure that any fare hike petition will be reasonable for commuters.