MANILA, Philippines - Operators of buses using the Southwest Integrated Transport Terminal (SITT) in Parañaque stand to save up to P300,000 a month or P4.2 million a year, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Francis Tolentino said yesterday in support of his petition for a bus fare reduction.
The figures were contained in a supplemental motion filed by Tolentino and four other persons before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) yesterday to support their plea to cut by eight percent the rates of the buses plying the southern Luzon route.
Bus firms would save on fuel due to the shorter route, terminal and dispatch fees and illegal terminal fines and penalties, the petition read.
During the hearing yesterday, LTFRB chairman Winston Ginez gave the petitioners until Tuesday to furnish the other parties copies of the supplemental petition.
Following the hearing yesterday, Joy Purificacion of the United Cavite Bus Operators Transport Inc. claimed that instead of savings, the bus operators are incurring losses because of the new terminal.
Purificacion said bus operators had already paid for their own terminals for a year.
Ginez also urged consumer groups to comment on the petition.