Let us use Metro Manila terminals – Manila Newsletter

Provincial bus operators urge government to allow them to use their terminals in Metro Manila to help cope with influx of commuters after economy gradually reopens and holiday rush this Christmas season .

In his letter to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Alex Yague, executive director of Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus ng Pilipinas, said approving their appeal would reduce the burden on passengers to and from provinces.

Passengers from the provinces are now required to disembark at interchange terminals that are “too remote or impractical for their final destination in Metro Manila,” Yague said.

“For example, passengers arriving from central and northern Luzon should get off at the Philippine Sports Arena in Bocaue, Bulacan or at the Valenzuela City Gateway terminal. Those from Mindanao, the Visayas and southern Luzon are dropped off at SM Sta. Rosa or the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), ”Yague said.

“In any case, passengers have no choice but to take taxis or UVs, up to two or three times, to get to their final destination in Metro Manila,” he said. -he adds.

Along with the inconvenience and additional costs of the fares, Yague argued that passengers are also at risk of contracting coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Yague added that provincial bus operators have also been severely affected by the ongoing pandemic which has left them with reduced or even zero incomes when lockdowns were imposed in most parts of the country.

The group, which comprises 70 percent of all provincial bus franchises nationwide, said returning the terminals and its operations to their respective private terminals in Metro Manila would help them provide swift service. and effective to the constituency public, as well as continued employment of over 50,000 transportation workers.

“The only way out of the difficulties is for the government to revert to pre-pandemic status, where buses were allowed to move freely from provinces to their terminals in Metro Manila and vice versa,” Yague said. .

“To this end, we in the ground transportation industry stand ready to work with government to ensure the health, safety and efficient mobility of commuters,” he added.