MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has reminded provincial bus drivers about an existing regulation where they are only allowed to drive for six hours straight.
According to LTFRB chair Martin Delgra who inspected ordinary bus terminals in Cubao, Quezon City on Wednesday, drivers making trips longer than six hours should have a back-up driver either riding the bus or at the next bus station.
“I have reminded drivers of our policy on six continuous hours of driving, if you would exceed that, the bus company has to have an alternative driver either also riding in the bus or waiting at the next terminal where the trip of the first driver would end,” Delgra told reporters in an ambush interview.
This rule was based on a 2017 memorandum circular released by LTFRB, in order to curb accidents due to drivers being tired and eventually falling asleep.
He also urged commuters to voice their concerns whenever they feel that their bus driver is going over the speed limit or is driving dangerously.
“If the driver would overspeed, I told the passengers to talk to the drivers about it, because they are on the road. Yes, they can [call authorities about it] but of course if you would call people while on the road, it would be better if you inform the driver yourself,” he added.
Aside from these concerns, Delgra said they have not noticed any major problem, although he noted that some bus terminals they have visited had a shortage of available seats for waiting passengers.
“It was okay, except for a few problems, for example, the lack of ample seats for the waiting passengers, like in one terminal where the waiting area is comfortable but it is small, so we are expecting these areas to be crowded,” Delgra said.
“I have told them already that we will come back to check on the welfare of the passengers,” he added.
READ: MMDA, I-ACT inspect bus terminals days before ‘Undas’
Every All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day, a lot of Filipinos travel back to their provinces either to maximize the vacation or to pay respects to their dead relatives.
However, passenger activity remains lower compared to last year, especially in Cubao where authorities said only 4,000 commuters have trooped to their bus stations.
READ: LTFRB grants 885 special bus permits for ‘Undas’
While LTFRB expects the volume of passengers to increase in the coming hours and on Thursday, Delgra assured that there are enough buses to ferry commuters.
“Actually its volume, when it comes to seasons like this, basically we have reminded bus operators that they need to inspect buses thoroughly and check on the road-worthiness of the vehicles,” Delgra explained.
“We would like to think so (that we have enough buses). Because we already have the latest number on the special permits that we have released, it has totaled to 897 bus units for those traveling outside of Metro Manila,” he added.
He also said that some city bus lines have started helping transport people plying short provincial routes, like from Metro Manila to Laguna provinces.
“For that matter, in fact in the first terminals that we visited, there are city buses making trips for short provincial trips like Laguna, what they used are the city buses that applied for special permits,” he said. /je