Ambulance Use in EDSA Busway Sparks Controversy
Since last year, the use of ambulances on the EDSA Busway without patients or emergency situations has drawn attention. Several ambulances have been caught entering the bus lane even when they were not responding to emergencies. For example, in June last year, two ambulances used the busway to attend an event at a mall in Pasay City. More recently, in February, another ambulance with blinking lights was seen driving in the bus lane without a patient on board.
This growing issue is why the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) has hesitated to program an automatic exemption for all vehicles with sirens and blinkers under the No-Contact Apprehension Policy (NCAP) system. “We need to make sure that the use of those vehicles is indeed for legitimate emergency situation because we already have a case before of a funeral service vehicle with ambulance marking which abused this privilege,” said a senior official from the MMDA. “We cannot program our NCAP system to automatically exempt vehicles with sirens and blinkers because this may be abused,” they added.
Ensuring Legitimate Use of Emergency Vehicles
How does the MMDA verify whether ambulances and fire trucks are being used properly? The agency assigns a team of experienced enforcers to review all potential violations flagged by AI-equipped CCTV cameras before sending any notice of violation to the registered vehicle owners.
For instance, if a car swerves suddenly and is tagged for a violation, the review team checks if there was a valid reason, such as an obstruction on the road. If justified, no notice of violation is issued. “Under NCAP, all the vehicles that would be tagged by the AI-technology CCTV cameras will be subjected to automatic review, which means that NCAP personnel will manually review the violation and if it is found out that there’s no violation, then no notice of violation would be sent,” the official explained.
The same process applies to ambulances and fire trucks. If an ambulance is caught running a red light on camera, the violation is reviewed and often dismissed if it is confirmed that the emergency vehicle was responding to a legitimate call. Violations of vehicles that yielded to the emergency vehicle are also disregarded.
Promoting Responsible Use of Emergency Vehicles
Officials emphasize that emergency vehicles must be used responsibly. Abuse of privileges undermines traffic rules and public trust. To help motorists, the MMDA has made it possible to challenge notices of violation online. Drivers can submit a challenge form via the MMDA’s official Facebook page or website. Sometimes, the agency even provides video evidence of the alleged violation to support transparency.
The ongoing challenges with ambulances using the EDSA Busway highlight the need for careful monitoring and enforcement. By combining technology with manual review, authorities aim to balance traffic regulation with the urgent needs of emergency responders.
For more news and updates on ambulance use in EDSA Busway, visit Filipinokami.com.