INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines — The public is warned against riding colorum vehicles that are expected to thrive as the Kalag-Kalag season winds down.
“Akong advise nga usa sa pinakaimportante gyud nga inyong sakyan kanang duna ra juy franchise [nga utility vehicle]. Delikado kaayo’g makasakay mo anang mga colorum,” Eduardo Montealto Jr., director of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) said on Thursday, November 2.
Colorum is the term regulators used to coin private vehicles operating as PUVs without authorization from the LTFRB.
One of the easiest ways of finding a colorum unit is the absence of mandated PUV markings like its route.
Its windows are also heavily tinted whereas PUVs operating with the proper franchise have transparent ones.
Colorum vehicles also operate using private plates, not the standard plates meant for PUVs. In addition, some colorum operators often ask for a higher fare than ordinary PUVs.
READ: How to spot colorum vehicles and why regulators think they’re not safe?
Operators and drivers of colorum vehicles, when caught, may face fines of up to P1 million for buses, P200,000 for trucks and vans, and P50,000 for jeepneys. The minimum period for impounding is three months.
With this, Montealto suggests that passengers should choose to ride buses in the terminals because those have franchises, as well as van-for-hires stationed in the transport terminals.
Last October 25, Montealto said that part of their ‘Oplan Biyaheng Ayos for Undas 2023′ is checking if the buses’ franchises are still up to date.
On Thursday, Montealto said that their ‘alert status’ in inspecting the roadworthiness and franchises of the PUVs would be until November 5, Sunday.
READ: Duterte orders massive crackdown on colorum vehicles
“Pero bisan pag wala’y office order, mag [inspection] gihapon mi kung makita namo nga daghan gyud og pasahero, maga-bantay gihapon mi,” Montealto said.
Meanwhile, on Thursday, the LTFRB reminded through their Facebook page that the drivers and operators must implement the 20-percent fare discount for student commuters and senior citizens. /with reports from Morexette Marie B. Erram
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