MANILA — The new head of the Department of Transportation on Tuesday said he is looking at several immediate and medium term upgrades to the EDSA bus Carousel.

Transport Secretary Vince Dizon wants to install clear way finders at the busway and MRT-3 stations, fix the faulty timers at bus stops as well as the inconvenient railing stops and broken elevators, the DOTr said in a statement.

Dizon also noted that a stricter dispatch system must be implemented at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) and Monumento Station to ensure buses leave on time and avoid clogging at bus stops to ensure predictable travel time for commuters, the agency added.

He also said that the DOTR will need to construct separate busway concourses for busway passengers to keep them from mixing up with MRT-3 passengers. 

“The ultimate fix which would take anywhere between 10 and 12 months or 14 months is we have to build separate concourses [for EDSA Busway],” Sec. Dizon said, adding that the SM Group has already donated two busway concourses.

The DOTr said it will replicate the model busway stations donated by the SM Group for other EDSA Busway stations by bidding out for the construction of the concourses in May with construction expected to commence in the second half of 2025, according to Dizon.

The operations and maintenance of the EDSA Busway will be privatized as part of the long term plans for the busway system. The feasibility study for this to be completed in a few months and the contract to be awarded by the end of 2026.

A cabinet official earlier floated a plan to remove the busway with the expected upgrades to the riding capacity of the MRT-3, but this was criticized by transport advocates who said traffic along EDSA had improved since the busway's development.