The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority will start the implementation on Thursday (January 31) of the Bus Management and Dispatch System (BMDS), an enhanced bus dispatch system that does not only regulate the number of public utility buses (PUBs) in EDSA but also monitors the drivers manning them.
The BMDS is the first bus reduction program in the country that utilizes biometrics or finger-scanning to identify and monitor PUB drivers, ensuring the safety of commuters that patronize PUBs, MMDA Chairman Francis Tolentino said.
He said the program will be pilot-tested at the bus dispatch terminal of the MMDA at Fairview, Quezon City. Twelve more satellite stations will be established all over Metro Manila later this year.
"Our aim is to instill discipline among PUB drivers and make them aware that we at the MMDA, together with other agencies, are capable of monitoring them, especially their driving behavior," Tolentino said, noting the spate of fatal road accidents last year involving PUBs.
BMDS is a much improved system similar to the Organized Bus Route where PUBs are dispatched from four MMDA terminals, partnered with the private sector, based on passenger demand and current traffic situation in a given day.
But under BMDS, PUB drivers are now required to finger-scan at the dispatch terminals before being allowed to ply their routes. The MMDA has created a PUB Driver's Databank which contained the personal information of each registered driver, the bus company where he is employed, and even the number of his unsettled traffic violations.
A total of 3,471 city buses operated by 105 firms have registered in the database, which is also linked with other agencies such as LTO, LTFRB, and National Bureau of Investigation.
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