MMDA to offer free rides to stranded commuters on Thursday
FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Expecting thousands of public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers to participate in the mass transport strike on Thursday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will provide free ride for commuters should public transportation in the metro be paralyzed by the protest.
The MMDA has prepared several truck and bus units to accommodate commuters who might be stranded as several transport groups are set to hold a protest caravan to oppose higher fines for violations committed by PUVs.
Groups will assemble at the QC Memorial Circle before proceeding to the offices of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) along East Avenue and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) in Pasig City.
Around 14,000 members are expected to join the strike, according to The Stop and Go Coalition, a member of the “No to Joint Administrative Order (JAO) No. 2014-01” alliance.
Groups are opposing the JAO 2014-01 or the Revised Schedule of Fines and Penalties for Violations of Laws, Rules and Regulations Governing Land Transportation, saying it has excessively increased penalties for ‘colorum’ (unauthorized) vehicles.
Under the order, franchise-less public utility buses are fined up to P1 million, P200,000 for vans and trucks, sedans P120,000, jeepneys P15,000 and P6,000 for motorcycles.
The agency will mobilize its traffic management and emergency response units to ensure peace and order during the mass action while the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will deploy contingency forces.
“We will be fielding extra number of traffic personnel along the caravan’s routes to keep vehicular traffic moving,” MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said in a statement.
Tolentino, who also heads the Presidential Task Force of Transport Strikes and Mass Actions, urged stranded passengers to use the Pasig River Ferry service as an alternative mode of transportation.
“We recognize the transport groups’ right to voice their grievances but this should not affect nor greatly inconvenience the rights of the greater majority to conduct their daily business as protected likewise by the general welfare clause of the Constitution,” Tolentino said.
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