MANILA, Philippines — After opening new routes in time for the opening of classes, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Sunday asked the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority to suspend the no contact apprehension policy for public utility vehicles (PUVs).
In a letter sent to MMDA on August 19, the two agencies made the request to ensure that PUVs will be able to accommodate passengers amid the expected surge both in traffic volume and passengers in Metro Manila due to the start of classes on Monday.
MMDA, for its part, told the DOTr that no PUVs will be apprehended because it has not yet issued certificates of public convenience (CPC) for the routes that will be opened on Monday, and special permits have already been issued to PUVs while waiting for LTFRB’s official decision to open CPC applications.
“Bukod diyan, exempted ang mga PUV sa Number Coding Scheme ng MMDA. Pero iginigiit ng MMDA na hindi exempted ang mga PUV sa paglabag sa mga batas-trapiko at tinitiyak nila na mananagot ang mga pasaway na PUV driver sa kalsada. Dinagdag nito na lahat ng CPC violations ay ipapadala sa LTFRB para sa karampatang aksyon,” it said.
(Apart from that, PUVs are exempted from the MMDA’s Number Coding Scheme. But the MMDA insists that PUVs are not exempt from traffic laws and drivers who violate them will be held accountable. It added that all CPC violations will be forwarded to the LTFRB for appropriate action.)
LTFRB then advised public transportation operators and drivers to abide by the rules outlined in their franchises and provisional authorization. Franchises or licenses that are violated may be revoked.
It can be recalled that LTFRB on Wednesday announced the reopening of 133 pre-pandemic routes for PUVs, including 33 bus routes, 68 jeepneys routes, and 32 routes for UV express vehicles.
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