MANILA, Philippines — A Quezon City court has ruled that bus companies are no longer required to use integrated terminals, a provincial bus coalition said on Monday.
The decision may derail the window hour scheme being implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
Alex Yague, executive director of the Nagkakaisang Samahan ng Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas, said the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 223 released an order on April 27 that allows provincial buses to ferry passengers to private terminals “any time.”
The court affirmed Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases Resolution 164, which “invalidates the previous order that provincial buses are required to use integrated terminals in areas under Alert Level 1,” Yague said in an interview aired over Teleradyo.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) earlier served show-cause orders last month to provincial bus companies that failed to send out fleets of buses to ferry passengers to and from Metro Manila outside the window hours set by the MMDA.
During the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. window, provincial buses may use their private terminals. Outside those hours, they can use designated integrated terminals such as the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, North Luzon Express Terminal and the Sta. Rosa Integrated Terminal.
This means if passengers need to go to provinces outside the window hours, they may take city buses that go to these terminals.
Beyond the window hours, their origin and destination must be at the designated integrated terminal, where there are city buses that will ferry the passenger.
Yague said he hopes both the MMDA and the LTFRB have received copies of the court order so that they can implement it.
The LTFRB was sought for comment but has yet to respond.
Together with the Department of Transportation, the LTFRB and MMDA met last week to agree to continue the window hour scheme that they said was being “defied” by provincial bus operators.
However, ABS-CBN reported that provincial buses were operating outside window hours yesterday morning.