2013-01

Last January, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) issued Regulation 2013-01, which mandates the strict observance nationwide of the 15-year age limit of buses and mini-buses, even those units with road worthiness and Motor Vehicle Inspection Section certificates.  According to the LTFRB, Regulation 2013-01 is a reiteration of the order prescribed by Department Order 2002-30.

Department Order 2002-30 provides that “no unit shall be the subject of a new application for franchise, for extension of validity of Certificate of Public Convenience, for substitution of unit and for increase of number of units, if said unit is more than the minimum age requirement as specified below by the time of expiration of the covering CPC. For buses and mini-buses e.g. PUB and shuttle bus: the unit should not be more than 15 years old reckoned from the date of manufacture of subject vehicle.”

Basing it purely on the numbers, an order that was issued in 2002 is only being reiterated eleven years later (2013).  No wonder bus operators all over the country are up in arms about this regulation.  It is not because they have less than four years left to use the buses they registered since the order was issued, it is because, like the LTFRB, they completely forgot about it.

Despite the protest of the local bus group, I am all for this regulation.  The strict implementation of this regulation will assure the riding public of newer, and safer buses.  Sure, we will still have the occasional traffic collisions involving buses being driven recklessly.  At least this time, they won’t be able to claim equipment failure and the fault will fully lie on the doped-up driver who, through the stringent drug-testing methods implemented by the local licensing office, manages to secure another fake professional license while fully under the influence of hallucinogens.

Another reason I support this is the hope that this will be duplicated for the hundreds of dilapidated public utility jeepneys and taxis that still ply the roads.  Aside from the reckless manner they maneuver their vehicles, their constant ability to croak in the middle of the road during rush hour is something we do not need.  Clearing the roads of these tetanus-causing junk heaps would lead to less congested roads and pave the way for their much-beloved BRT project.

I hope the LTFRB will amend the regulation to include surplus vehicles being used as public transport vehicles.  Many multicabs are being converted to public people carriers despite their engines not capable of carrying the loads they are subjected to.  Many times you see them struggling to make the minimum speed limit on highways.  These same multicabs are also notorious for the frequency that they break down.

The last reason I fully support the implementation of the regulation, and the prayer of many car salespersons, is that I hope this program will extend to privately-owned vehicles.  I am aware that it will be a totally different agency that will handle this.  I just hope it won’t take them another eleven years to come up with such a plan.   By then, we won’t have enough roads networks to fit all the clunkers still allowed to run.

For now, we will have to hold our breath and hope that the LTFRB will strictly implement Regulation 2013-01 and won’t let anyone or any group get past it. 

But that’s like believing that the moon is made of cheese.  Everyone knows it’s not true.