Sen. Grace Poe on Monday asked the bus operators to carry out their mandate accordingly in serving the commuters, many of whom have been stranded and inconvenienced since last week.
“The bottomline is to serve our passengers coming to and from the provinces carrying heavy belongings, with meager resources and no home or place to stay in Metro Manila,” said Poe, head of the Senate public services committee.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued show-cause orders to six provincial buses to explain why passengers were unduly stranded. The agency set a virtual hearing on May 10.
Some provincial bus operators reportedly limited their operations based on the window hours of 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for the use of their respective private terminals in Metro Manila. Transport officials maintained that the said buses can ply to the National Capital Region even outside the said hours to their designated intermodal terminals.
The senator’s team made the rounds of the intermodal transport terminals, including the North Luzon Express Terminal in Bocaue, Bulacan, which had few buses and passengers last Friday.
“What further hurts commuters is that they have to shell out more for fares instead of spending less,” Poe said.
The senator earlier raised the urgency to have seamless connectivity in public transportation to be able to conveniently move people faster.
She had also stressed the importance of putting up intermodal terminals in strategic locations for greater access to the public.
“We must place the highest interest of commuters above all. This cannot be compromised,” Poe said.
At the same time, Poe took to task Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, urging him to ensure that challenges hounding those taking the provincial buses to and from Metro Manila were promptly addressed.
“We call on Secretary Tugade to ensure that things work out for our passengers who brave long hours of commuting under risk of peril,” Poe said.