The government appealed to shopping mall operators to participate in its campaign against colorum and out-of-line vehicles, which it said is one of the contributing factors to the worsening traffic problem in the country.
In a meeting held in Makati City on Friday, Metro Manila Development Authority general manager Thomas Orbos encouraged mall owners and operators to present their respective terminal plans to the Department of Transportation and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and prevent colorum vehicles from entering their premises.
Orbos, also the concurrent chief of the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic, said that mall owners and operators should not allow colorum vehicles to operate in their establishments. He added business establishments should prioritize the safety and security of their customers.
“This is shared responsibility and we have to reject colorums. Don’t allow them to use your establishments for their illegal terminals,” he said.
Orbos stressed the importance of implementing traffic reduction measures within shopping malls and other commercial centers as they are now serving as transport hubs.
Former MMDA chairman and now Marikina Rep. Bayani Fernando recently said that burning of colorum public utility vehicles is one of the solutions to address the worsening traffic problem in Metro Manila.
Fernando, vice chairman of the House Committee on Transportation, also urged the government to rationalize the issuance of franchise to all public utility vehicles.
“All PUVs must be given franchises, the jeeps, buses and UV Express. The truth is we lack public utility vehicles, but the problem is dispatching, and that is why we created the organized bus routed dispatching. The secret of all transport companies is the effective dispatching,” said Fernando.
Upon issuance of franchise, Fernando said, “You will no longer become colorum. But first strike, your vehicle will be burned and from there, you will get another franchise before you can get a (new) unit.”
He explained that “If you did not burn it, babalik iyan sa kalye. You have the right to own but you should not use it. As I see it pabalik balik lang ang problema, iyong mga bus nanuhuhol. Nakakasawa na. Ang bait kasi natin.”
But Orbos rejected Fernando’s proposal to burn colorum vehicles.
The MMDA is mandated under Republic Act 7924, the law creating the agency, to go after colorum and out-of-line vehicles.
MMDA officials admitted that colorums, out-of-line Asian Utility Vehicles and undisciplined drivers of public utility vehicles are among the “culprits” that caused heavy traffic along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue.
Under the Joint Administrative Order issued by the LTFRB, operators of colorum buses will be fined P1 million for the first offense, P200,000 for trucks and vans, P120,000 for sedans, P50,000 for jeepneys, and P60,000 for motorcycles.
Five years ago, the Metro Manila Council, MMDA’s policy-making body composed of the 17 mayors, authorized the agency to implement vehicle tagging of all registered and franchised public utility vehicles plying the major and secondary roads of Metro Manila.
The scheme aimed to wipe out colorum and out-of-line PUVs and improve the MMDA traffic monitoring and surveillance. It will also facilitate easy tracking and identification of traffic violators because the license plates of the PUVs will be painted prominently on the roofs, making it easy for the MMDA’s CCTV cameras to capture images and identify them
During the first State of the Nation Address of President Rodrigo Duterte, the Chief Executive ordered an all out campaign against colorum and out-of-line vehicles and the removal of terminals that caused traffic congestion.