The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) may issue a “show cause” order against bus companies that have failed to deploy adequate units despite being authorized to operate during the pandemic.
Martin Delgra III, chief of the regulatory body, said his group recently learned that there are members of the two bus consortia in Metro Manila that are now deploying enough units to accommodate the demand for travel.
“Insofar as the number of units is concerned, our current supply is sufficient to address the demand. What’s important is the utilization of the supply. However, based on our monitoring, the number of authorized units, is not the actual number of running units,” he said in a phone interview.
This, Delgra said, results in commuters scrambling to board buses or waiting for units for longer periods of time.
“So I gave instruction to my people to further monitor and perhaps issue—if warranted—a show-cause order as to why there are insufficient number of authorized units deployed,” he said.
Currently, there are 4,600 city bus units authorized to operate within Metro Manila. They operate in 31 rationalized routes. Each route ends on Edsa.
Delgra said his group also learned that some members of the bus consortia refused to operate due to reasons pertaining to manpower.
“Some also say that their target revenues are not being hit on a day-to-day basis,” he said.
Delgra noted that the government would continue to review and rationalize routes based on the trends. It is also waiting for the completion of the Metro Manila Urban Transport Integration Study, which is being conducted by the Transport and Traffic Planners (TTPI) Inc.
“That study will tell us the whole demand, how and where people move, look at supply, and look at the routes where the supply will be deployed. This is the ultimate solution insofar as the current situation is concerned,” he said.
Image courtesy of PNA/Jess M. Escaros Jr.