A CEBU-BASED transport group will stage a rally in front of the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB-7) this Friday to air their opposition to the operation of European-made buses that will soon ply Metro Cebu routes.
Julito Flores, board director of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association (CCTODAI), said consultation with the transport sector should be held before SM’s My Bus goes into operation.
“This is an insult to us, and many drivers as well as operators will be displaced if these buses would ply routes in Metro Cebu,” Flores told the reporters.
Flores, also president of the Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators Association, said they are willing to sit down with the company.
“If they told us before that they need help, then it would be better. Not that we are surprised that they already purchased the bus units before the consultation,” he said.
CCTODAI counts 5,000 drivers and operators in Cebu as its members.
The hearing on the SM My Bus will start at 9 a.m. at the LTFRB-7 regional office.
“It is a normal (opposition) reaction,” said LTFRB-7 regional director Reynaldo Elnar of this Friday’s rally.
He said the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) approved the application of a consortium of SM Prime Holdings Inc. and Manila-based Jam Liner Inc. to operate the buses.