Gov’t to put the brakes on unruly Metro Manila bus drivers starting March 9

MANILA, Philippines — Days of misbehaving drivers of city buses are numbered in Metro Manila.

This, as the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said Tuesday it would bar them from driving around the National Capital Region beginning March 9.

“We are serious about this matter. It’s about time to suspend erring drivers with alarming number of apprehensions,” Garcia said during a press conference in MMDA’s main office in Makati City. He noted that licenses of bus drivers who repeatedly violate traffic rules will be confiscated by LTO representatives.

MMDA General Manager Jojo Garcia said a representative of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will be deployed in MMDA’s Bus Management Dispatch offices to screen city bus drivers and determine who among them would only be allowed to continue to drive on Metro Manila roads. But MMDA also said they already possess a list of wayward city bus drivers who would be disqualified from using city highways.

MMDA’s Bus Management Dispatch offices, which monitor bus drivers and regulate the number of public utility buses traversing EDSA, are located in Baclaran, Alabang, Navotas, Valenzuela, and Fairview.

The undertaking to rid Metro Manila roads of unruly bus drivers was forged in a meeting between MMDA, LTO, city bus operators, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority.

On Monday, MMDA said 2,500 drivers of public utility vehicles, mostly city bus drivers, are facing 90-day suspension for committing multiple traffic violations.

The Republic Act No. 4136 or Land Transportation and Traffic Code of the Philippines, states that a driver who commits at least three times of same violations during a 12-month period will face automatic suspension of their driver’s license for up to  one or two years.

KGA