The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will open around 50 additional routes in Metro Manila to put more public utility vehicles on the road.
It also clarified that the collection of bus fares at the Carousel from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily was not a new regulation but a policy implemented since 2021, LTFRB board member and lawyer Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said at a public briefing on Wednesday.
“In our previous meetings, to my knowledge, we will open around 50 additional routes. If possible, we will release it this week,” Paras-Leynes said.
Before this, over 100 bus, jeepney, and UV Express routes were opened in anticipation of the reopening of face-to-face classes last August.
The LTFRB also clarified that phase 3 of the EDSA Busway Carousel “Libreng Sakay” program under the Department of Transportation stays until December 2022 from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m.
The service-contracting or free-ride program was extended in April this year.
“Between 11 p.m. and 3 a.m., the services of EDSA Busway PUBs have a corresponding fare collection or transport fare,” Paras-Leynes said, referring to a joint advisory of DoTr and LTFRB.
“We just want to correct the information. We have been implementing the free rides on the Busway from 4 a.m. until 11 p.m., since 2021.
This is not a new decision by the new board. We had since allowed them to charge from 11 p.m. to 4 a.m.” she said.
“It is not true that we allowed buses on EDSA to charge fares just recently,” Paras-Leynes added.
The LTFRB official said the agency is also studying a proposal to extend the validity of the franchise of PUV operators and drivers who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as waive their penalties.
The Libreng Sakay program was launched in December 2020 to end in June 2021 under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.
Under the General Appropriations Act of 2021, the program’s phase 2 was extended from September 2021 to December 2021.
The GAA of 2022 extended the program’s phase 3 from April 2022 until December 2022.
The LTFRB last week approved fare increases for traditional and modern jeepneys, buses, taxis, and transport network vehicle services (TNVS).
It will take effect 15 days after publication in a newspaper of general circulation or around the first week of October.
“I would not say that the fare increase approval we issued is a band-aid solution because it will be permanent. What we could say is that it is a step toward addressing the overall transportation problem,” Paras-Leynes said.
The LTFRB is already accepting applications for fare matrices of public utility vehicles, she said.
Paras-Leynes urged the public to report UV Express drivers who are charging additional fees, as the agency continues to hear their petition for fare increases. She also urged commuters to report other PUV drivers doing the same.