Major transport organizations and the Department of Transportation (DoTr) have unified in opposition against a proposal to allow high-occupancy private vehicles to use the EDSA Busway, arguing the move would paralyze mass transit efficiency.

In a statement, the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) expressed support for DoTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez, who recently rejected a suggestion to open the dedicated lane to carpooling services.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) also formally backed the opposition, maintaining that the EDSA Busway must remain exclusive to authorized public utility buses.

“The EDSA Carousel is designed for buses which are for mass transport,” said Alex Yague, PBOAP executive director and spokesperson. Yague warned that the program’s intent would be “defeated” if private cars were permitted entry.

The controversy began after Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager Nicolas Torre III suggested the agency was considering a plan to allow vehicles carrying 10 or more passengers into the lane.

“One of the things we are thinking of doing — but this is not yet approved — is putting down on the drawing table the idea of allowing high-occupancy vehicles,” Torre said in a recent interview.

Lopez countered the MMDA’s “drawing table” idea immediately, emphasizing that the infrastructure prioritizes volume of people over volume of vehicles.

“The busway was designed primarily to move more people — not more cars — by providing fast and uninterrupted service to buses carrying up to 300,000 passengers daily,” Lopez said. He added that any influx of private vehicles would “inevitably slow down bus operations.”

Other prominent transport leaders, including Melencio Vargas of the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Associations of the Philippines (ALTODAP) and Obet Martin of Pasang-Masda National, also voiced their disapproval.

Vargas expressed concern that the proposal would return the thoroughfare to its previous state of gridlock.

“The EDSA Busway operation is already organized; why disrupt it?” Vargas said in Filipino. “This will only lead back to the old system where traffic was knotted up because there was no system.”

Martin echoed these sentiments, noting that because the busway consists of only a single lane, even a few additional vehicles could cause significant blockages for thousands of commuters.

Both jeepney leaders noted that the current systematic operation of the EDSA Busway has provided indirect benefits to the broader transport network by streamlining traffic flow on the main highway.