Why not allow provincial buses in Edsa during off-peak hours?

MANILA, Philippines — Instead of completely banning provincial buses in Edsa, Camarines Sur Rep. Luis Raymund Villafuerte has suggested that they instead be allowed to traverse the major thoroughfare during non-peak hours.

“As a probinsyano, a simple solution…might be: Why don’t we allow or partially ban provincial buses and only allow them to enter in non-peak hours such as 2 a.m. to 4 a.m.,” Villafuerte said during Tuesday’s Senate public services committee hearing on the implementation of the provincial bus ban on Edsa.

“You know coming from Bicol, I ride the bus. The bus in Naga leaves at 8 p.m. it arrives before 2 in the morning, so it’s not rush hours,” he added.

The lawmaker also pointed out that while there is a move to ban provincial buses from plying Edsa, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is allowing 14,000 new premium taxis to ferry the more than 50,000 passengers daily in stop-off points in Sta. Rosa in Laguna and in Valenzuela.

“Then there will be 2,000 new P2P (point-to-point) buses at stop off points to enter Edsa, what’s the difference  P2P bus and a provincial bus? There is no substantial distinction between them,” he noted.

“My stand is [that] this ban, with all due respect, is anti-poor and kawawa ang taumbayan, lalung-lalo na sa mga taga-probinsya,” he added.  /muf