MANILA, Philippines — Expect to see the premium airport bus service out on the road within six months.
On Monday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) announced that AirFreight 2100 Inc. has been accredited by the board as the first airport bus service provider, to ply the routes from the three terminals of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) to the Roxas Boulevard and the Makati Central Business District areas.
“We will instruct AirFreight to submit necessary documents for the issuance of the certificate of public convenience [franchise],” for the airport bus service, LTFRB executive director Roberto Cabrera said, in a press conference on Monday.
AirFreight has also been required to roll out half of the 44 units for the airport bus service within six months, Cabrera said.
AirFreight 2100 Inc. was the previous name of logistics firm Air21 under the Lina Group of Companies, founded by now Bureau of Customs commissioner Bert Lina. Based on the Securities and Exchange Commission certificate submitted by AirFreight, Lina is now only an incorporator in the group, according to LTFRB Roberto Cabrera.
AirFreight 2100 was the only company which passed LTFRB’s qualification process for the airport bus service, which included the requirement of a P420 million capital. Bus firms JAM Liner Inc. and Froehlich Tours Inc. also applied for accreditation for the premium bus service but the companies “lacked documents,” Cabrera said.
“However, there’s still a possibility for them to join the next phase of the airport bus services. The next phase will be for the NAIA-Bonifacio Global City route. In a couple of weeks or months, we will start the accreditation process for that,” Cabrera said.
Cabrera said the airport buses would be more spacious than ordinary buses, with a strict 24-passenger seating capacity and enough room for luggage. They would also be equipped with security cameras and wireless Internet.
Each route will have no more than five designated off-street drop-off points, to ensure speedier travel time for passengers. Pickup would only be at the airport terminals, Cabrera said.
On its first year, the buses would run daily from 4 a.m. to 12 midnight, rolling out in 30-minute intervals, Cabrera said.
Fare for the bus service has been pegged at P300.
Cabrera dismissed anxieties the buses would add to road congestion around the airports, saying the bus passengers would likely have been picked up by private vehicles otherwise. “We’re seeing that we would be taking out 20 vehicles on the road in exchange for one bus,” Cabrera said. SFM