AN INITIATIVE to address the traffic congestion experienced inside the Ateneo campus and along Katipunan avenue has led to the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the Ateneo and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to launch The Ateneo WAY (Walang Aberyang Yayanig sa Biyaheng Ateneo).

Since its implementation on June 21, the Campus Safety and Mobility Office (CSMO) and the MMDA have already noticed improvements in the Katipunan traffic.

Although there have been changes in the mobility along Katipunan Avenue, Office of Student Services Director Michael Jacinto Mallillin said that decreasing traffic within the campus, particularly in the high school area, remained difficult due to the increase of students with the K-12 program.

“Nadagdag dun sa area nila ‘yung two year levels so nag-congest ‘yong high school. (The two year levels were added to their area which led to the congestion in the high school),” he said.

Initially, the shuttle services were for the use of Ateneo high school students and faculty members, but it has also become available to the Loyola Schools community as of June 28, according to a memo released by University President Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ.

Nature and objectives

Mallillin said that the main objective is to drastically cut down the number of vehicles entering the school.

“That’s the concern that they are addressing. Kailangan natin talaga maghanap ng way na we can really trim down the number of vehicles (That’s the concern that they are addressing. We really need to find a way to trim down the number of vehicles),” he said.

According to CSMO Director Marcelino Mendoza, they “chose the nearest location going to the University without having to pass along the stretch of Katipunan Road from White Plains to Commonwealth. With the Ateneo as reference, [we determined] a North hub (UP Ayala Technohub), South hub (Temple Drive) and an East hub (SM Marikina).”

Students have the option to choose one of the departure times: 6:30 AM and 6:45 AM for high school students and 7:15 AM for Loyola Schools students at all stations.

The target passengers of The Ateneo WAY are students who ride as single passengers in private vehicles, since the abundance of a one-student-per-car scenario worsens the traffic in front of the campus especially in the morning.

According to Mendoza, the shuttle service is free of charge for the duration that they are experimenting to find the best possible rate.

“Gusto namin yung pinakamababang rate para maging successful itong system (We want the lowest possible rate to make this system successful),” he said.

Shuttle impact

While The Ateneo WAY invoked some positive initial feedback, Mendoza said that direct effects towards the traffic congestion have yet to be gauged further, especially since there are more members of the Ateneo community who will be able to avail of these services in the coming regular semesters.

According to Mendoza, the MMDA has reported a lightening of traffic in the morning, but consistency has yet to be checked until the first regular semester of the upcoming school year.

Despite the positive feedback, Mallillin shared that the number of students patronizing the shuttle service still remains low. For the month of July, an average of only 170 riders have been recorded daily.

Future plans

Mallillin shared that the Ayala Malls have shown their interest to cooperate with the shuttle service, which led to the possibility of adding more hub locations, such as in Alabang Town Center, Fairview Terraces, and Market! Market! in Taguig.

According to Mendoza, the CSMO plans to “reassess hub locations, schedule of pickup and drop-off hubs, shuttle bus capacity, security plan, projected trip fare, etc.”

Aside from this, there is another shuttle service being planned called u-Hop, a point-to-point shuttle service. “It’s very flexible, you can change the time of day [to be picked up]. But it is an actual service that the school is contracting with. It’s like carpool that’s organized every day. It has that convenience,” Mallillin said.

However as of now, these plans are still being discussed and the main objective is still to spread the word out about the Ateneo WAY.

Mendoza, Mallillin, and Villarin have all expressed the great need of the support and patronage of the whole Ateneo community. According to Mendoza, CSMO is “working on an effective information drive to entice the members of the community to join the shuttle service program,” but support and participation will be necessary.

Mallillin expressed the hope that should the program be promoted well enough, more people would patronize it.

“We really want to market it to the LS students para ‘yong second and third trip mapupuno rin. (We really want to market it to the LS students so that the second and third trips become fully loaded as well),” he said, adding that too little are availing of the service and those managing it are not serving as many as they could be.

Villarin also stated in his memo his appeal for the “patience, sense of citizenship and compassion, active participation, and creativity of the university community.” Like Mendoza, he also urged everyone “to participate in this program and be part of the solution to our traffic congestion problem.”

The MMDA estimates that with the implementation of this system, 400 cars will be decreased from the number of vehicles that pass through Katipunan Avenue every morning. They also encourage other institutions to adapt the same system.