LTFRB-7 warns PUV drivers not to go out of line

The Cebu South Bus Terminal will be open 24-hours a day from October 30 to November 2 to accommodate the volume of travellers who are going home to the countryside for the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day celebration. | Rosalie Abatayo

CEBU CITY, Philippines —The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) is asking  operators of Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) to apply for a special permit if they intend to deploy units to serve areas that are located outside of their approved routes during the All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day celebrations.

LTFRB-7 Assistant Director Reynaldo Elnar said that PUV owners who go out of line may be faced with fines ranging from P50, 000 to P1 million.

Habitual offenders may also be faced with the suspension or revocation of their franchises.

To avoid the payment of fines, Elnar said that PUV operators should visit their office to apply for a special permit that will be valid during the peak of the holiday travel from October 30 to November 3.

Read more: Cebu South Bus Terminal assures 24-hour operations heading to All Saints’, Souls’ Days

Holders of a special permit will be allowed to ply routes that are located outside of their service areas to especially cater to passengers who may be left stranded as a result of the high influx of passenger who will be going home to the countryside during the holiday break.

But Elnar warned that PUJs are exempt from their special permit policy.

“The special permits for PUJs will only cover (those that will be used) for personal use. (But) they will not be allowed to pick up passengers. Only PUBs with special permits are allowed to go out of their (designated) routes and pick up passengers,” he added.

As of today, October 23, 2019, Elnar said that they are yet to receive any applications for the issuance of a special permit.

“Probably mga next week pa na sila mo-apply. Supposedly, one week before (the effectivity of the permit) mo-apply na sila. Dinhi man gud, magsalig sila nga paspas atong process unya makuha gyud nila in one day,” Elnar told CDN Digital.

(We are expecting the bulk of the applications to be submitted next week. Applications are supposed to be submitted one week ahead of schedule. It is just unfortunate that applicants submit their applications with only little time left because they know that we are efficient in the processing of their permit applications.)

Elnar said that a special permit application would take a day to process because they will have to look into the existing franchise units serving a particular route before they issue the special permit.

This is done to make sure that special permits are only issued in areas with high demand for buses.  At the same time, they also make sure that the other routes will not be left without buses to ply commuters.

Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) Operations Manager Carmen Quijano earlier called on operators to make sure that they will have enough units and spare drivers to ferry the huge volume of travellers who are expected the crowd the terminal during the holiday break.

Quijano said that they will operate the terminal located along Natalio Bacalso Avenue in Cebu City on a 24-hour basis from October 30 to November 2. / dcb