Journal of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies, Vol.13, 2019 1312 Premium Point to Point (P2P) Bus Service System: An Initial Assessment of Current Routes in Metro Manila Paolo Ian LUCERO a*, Alexis FILLONE b, Rachel HABANA c a Gokongwei College of Engineering (GCOE) Graduate School, De La Salle University, Metro Manila, 1004, Philippines; E-mail: paolo.lucero@dlsu.edu.ph b Civil Engineering Department, De La Salle University, Metro Manila, 1004, Philippines; E-mail: alexis.fillone@dlsu.edu.ph c Department of Science and Technology, Philippine Council for Industry, Energy & Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD), Metro Manila, 1631, Philippines; E-mail: rachel.habana@yahoo.com Abstract: An initial assessment of the existing routes of the recently implemented P2P Bus Service System in Metro Manila was conducted. The service encourages mode shifting from private to public transport especially for users traversing one of the busiest roads in the metro: Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). The characteristics of the P2P bus units that distinguish them from regular buses include fixed departure schedules, fewer pick-up and drop-off points, passenger limit, and aspects such as more comfortable seating and free internet connection. A questionnaire survey is then conducted among current P2P users to have an initial assessment of the said transit system and be able to formulate possible improvements. It was found that not all routes were able to successfully encourage private car users to shift to P2P and most of the current users are also from other modes of public transport. On the other hand, a satisfaction survey is also conducted among users and it is identified that affordability, travel time, schedule, and amenities are aspects which can be improved for the P2P bus service system. Keywords: Metro Manila, P2P Bus Service System, Public Transportation, Assessment 1. INTRODUCTION As an initiative of Philippines’ Department of Transportation (DoTr) to help improve the transportation system especially in Metro Manila, a new public transport system in the form of Premium Point to Point (P2P) Bus Service System was implemented in December 2015. In three years’ time, from an initial amount of 20 units serving 3 routes, the system has already expanded to 35 routes with a total of 312 P2P bus units serving not just the metropolitan area, but also nearby provinces as well (TDT, 2018). The characteristics of the P2P bus units that distinguish them from regular buses include fixed departure schedules, fewer pick-up and drop-off points, passenger limit, and aspects such as more comfortable seating and free internet connection. These characteristics are expected to encourage modal shift of private car users to public transport. According to DoTr, modal shift from private to public transport is the primary objective for the introduction of the P2P bus service system. The need for an introduction of a new mass transportation system came out from the idea of lessening the volume of Metro Manila’s most congested main road which is the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue or more commonly known as EDSA. However, due to continuous urban growth, vehicles traversing EDSA continuously increased over the years despite the introduction of the P2P bus service