‘Bus holiday’ on Monday

Bus operators are poised to declare a "bus holiday" set for Monday after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) reportedly deferred its ruling on their P2 fare hike petition.

An industry source tipped reporters yesterday afternoon that a bus holiday on Monday was confirmed, involving provincial and Metro Manila buses.

The source added operators held a meeting until yesterday afternoon.

Some 3,000 buses plying Metro Manila routes and an estimated 4,000 provincial buses are expected to participate through the non-fielding of units.

Claire de la Fuente, president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association (IMBOA), also refused to disclose the date of the planned "bus holiday."

"Di namin alam ang date, pero merong bus holiday. We are not allowed to reveal information, napagkasunduan ng council, nagkaroon ng consensus." She, however, assured that all the bus operators would join the activity.

She explained that a bus holiday is different from a strike.

"A strike involves drivers and employees going out into the streets at manggugulo," she explained.

Meanwhile, jeepney groups said that they will still have to think about whether or not to join the transport "holiday" by bus groups.

Efren de Luna, national president of the Philippine Confederation of Drivers Organizations-Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators (PCDO-ACTO), said that his group and allied jeepney associations, namely the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytors Nationwide (PISTON), ALTODAP, and MJODA, will still discuss the matter in continuous consultations that will be made in the coming days.

"Pag-uusapan pa namin yan. Meron pa namang Sabado at Linggo," De Luna told The STAR in an phone interview yesterday.

De Luna revealed that bus groups had been coordinating with them on a plan to stage a nationwide "holiday" next week.

He revealed that even some Metro Manila tricycle associations are planning to join the transport "holiday." — Evelyn Macairan, Rainier Allan Ronda<