Built and completed in 2017 as the modern alternative to, and eventual replacement for, the adjacent Araneta City Bus Terminal, the oldest integrated bus terminal in Metro Manila, in operation since 1993, and is also a hub for buses servicing the
Bicol Region.[4][5] The busport is used by inter-city and provincial bus lines.[2][6] The terminal is connected to the
LRT Line 2 and
MRT Line 3 by a network of elevated walkways and mall connections.
Location
The Araneta City Bus Port is located along General Romulo Avenue on the eastern side of Araneta City within the
barangay of
Socorro, Quezon City. It occupies the ground level of Manhattan Heights, a four-tower residential condominium complex that is part of the 5.7-hectare (14-acre), 18-tower highrise community developed by
Megaworld Corporation called
Manhattan Gardens.[7] The bus station is situated in the district of Cubao, a densely populated area north of
Ortigas Center in east-central Metro Manila that has the highest density of bus terminals in the entire Manila metropolitan area.[8] It is directly across from
Ali Mall and one block from the old Araneta bus station on Times Square Avenue.
History
The Araneta busport sits on the original location of Metro Manila's first integrated terminal which opened in 1993.[9] In 2011, the Araneta Center Bus Station was relocated to the old
Rustan's building located on Times Square Avenue built in 1974, after the department store transferred to its new home at the newly opened
Gateway Mall in 2005,[9][10] to make way for the construction of the Manhattan Heights, a 4-tower condominium development, as part of the
Manhattan Gardens complex. The old bus terminal is expected to be torn down in the future to make way for the construction of the Manhattan Plaza, the final highrise development of the Manhattan Gardens project.[9]
The modern busport at Manhattan Heights was inaugurated as the Araneta Center Bus Port in March 2017 with Vice President
Leni Robredo in attendance.[3] Following the issuance of the Metro Manila Council regulation prohibiting the operation of all provincial bus terminals along
EDSA in order to ease traffic congestion in Manila's main artery, the
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority announced in May 2019 that the Araneta bus terminal shall be exempt from the ban.[11]
In March 2020, the terminal was closed due the
COVID-19 pandemic, and served as an RT-PCR COVID-19 saliva testing site, in partnership with the
Philippine Red Cross, while transport services were temporarily moved to the old Araneta City Bus Station, which has 23 bays.[12] The old bus terminal reopened in September 2020, and has limited its operations to
Central Luzon, and has gradually expanded its services, while reviving previous routes within 2021 to 2022.[13][14][15] As of 2021, the Araneta Group have no announcement for the bus port's reopening, and is currently being utilized as a parking facility.
On October 25, 2022, the Araneta Group announced that all inter-city and provincial buses will be moved out from the Araneta City Bus Station, and will relocate their operations to the Araneta Bus Port. The day after the announcement, October 26, the Araneta City Bus Port reopened its operations, and services routes within areas around
Metro Manila,
Bulacan,
Pampanga,
Tabuk,
Laguna, and
Batangas. Presently, the Araneta City Bus Station is used to service modern jeepneys (BEEP) to and from select destinations in Quezon City,
Pasig, and the
Province of Rizal, under the Transport Equipment Aggregator and Management Inc. (1-TEAM), and other various transport cooperatives.[16][17][18]
Services
As of November 2022, the Araneta City Bus Port services the following routes:
Araneta City, Inc. operates electric-powered city shuttles (e-shuttles, also known as Green & Go) to destinations within the Araneta City district from
Ali Mall to the
LRT 2 Cubao Station Concourse and the
Gateway Mall 2 Southern Entrance. The Bus Port served as the shuttle's parking garage before reopening its services in November 2022.
Nearby Transport Services
Other transport terminals are located within walking distance from the Araneta Bus Port, which includes the following:
The following bus companies moved out from the Araneta City Bus Station and shifted their operations within their own terminals within Cubao until 2023, or moved their operations to the
Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange:
Provincial Buses like Amihan, Belleza, Bobis Liner, Cagsawa Travel, JVH, Megabus, Raymond Transportation and RSL operate to and from several
Solid North Transit – runs several routes from Araneta City Bus Port to destinations in
Pampanga,
Tarlac,
Pangasinan, and
Baguio.[32] destinations in the Bicol Region, including
Masbate.