Beeps are plying Cebu City streets again after Mayor Edgardo Labella ordered the CCTO to make sure that PUVs with special LTFRB permits should not be apprehended unless they violate traffic rules. | Gerard Vincent Francisco
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Beeps (bus-jeepneys) are back on the Cebu City streets.
This after Mayor Edgardo Labella has ordered the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) to facilitate the unimpeded operation of all public utility vehicles (PUV) with a special permit from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
On June 5, 2020, the CCTO apprehended at least six beep drivers for lack of CCTO identification cards (IDs) and travel line documents, even if the operator already have a special permit from the LTFRB.
Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of Cebu Integrated Transport Service Cooperative (Citrasco) and operator of the Beeps, said on Friday that they had pulled out 18 units because of these apprehensions.
Read more: Beeps pulled out of Cebu City due to CCTO apprehensions
Labella said these buses were essential for the workers who were stranded without the usual public transport.
On his Facebook page, he ordered the CCTO to allow the beeps to ply their routes without any form of apprehension unless they violate the traffic rules.
“The Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) is directed to (i) implement the foregoing orders and (ii) immediately facilitate the unimpeded operation of all types of public utility vehicles in Cebu City with Special Permits issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB),” said the mayor.
“Further, the requirement of Driver’s ID for drivers of public utility vehicles plying Cebu City streets are likewise SUSPENDED INDEFINITELY,” he added.
This means that the beep drivers will no longer need to present a travel line document to ply the temporary route they have been assigned to.
CDN Digital tried to reach Yu for his comments on this development, but he was not available to answer queries.
However, residents in Barangay Busay reported that beeps have already began plying the streets again, a development that workers in the area welcomed. /dbs