Where are the buses?

The "bus route rationalization program" of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), which aims to get rid of colorum vehicles, started yesterday with more than 2,000 public utility buses (PUBs) plying EDSA.

It appears, however, that the number of units is not enough to accommodate the huge volume of commuters as reports indicated that some 500 to 2,000 commuters found difficulty getting rides at around 7:30 a.m. yesterday.

Sources told The Star that there were supposed to be less than 1,500 buses which were issued stickers by the LTFRB for the program.

However, the actual count based on the master list of the LTFRB revealed that there were 2,442 buses which were issued stickers.

The source claimed that several of the buses were still unable to comply with the requirements of the program, but were still issued stickers.

It was explained the LTFRB issued the stickers to the non-compliant buses under what it calls "provisionary authority" or PA, valid for 90 days.

The PA is a temporary permit for buses to operate even if they have not yet complied with all of the requirements under the route rationalization program.

Requirements of the program include the uniform color of all buses under the same company and the availability of a garage for each operator.

The program was intended to rid Metro Manila’s roads of all colorum or buses without franchises. Prior to the start of the program, city bus operators claimed that there were more or less 6,000 PUBs in Metro Manila.

Half of the total is said to be operating illegally as either colorum or out of line.

The LTFRB reported that all of the guidelines and public hearings regarding the program were already completed last October. All of the applicants for the EDSA route were given until the end of February to comply with the requirements.

However, because several of the operators were unable to comply, the LTFRB decided to give them a grace period of 31 days or until the end of March to fulfill all of the requirements.

Sources revealed that the LTFRB was still processing some of the documents of the operators until late Monday night.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported yesterday that its traffic enforcers were able to apprehend eight buses in the first hour of implementation of the program.

According to the apprehension list, one bus each from the 4J Transport, Philippine Tourister, South Star, RRCG, Florida and two Royal Eagle buses were caught without the route rationalization sticker.

All of the apprehended buses were immediately impounded and the appropriate fines issued to operators.

There are also reports that PUBs may soon be exempted from the number-coding scheme in order to compensate for the reduction of the buses under the program.