Bus firm fined P1M for ‘colorum’ unit

A bus company was fined P1 million after a unit that was supposedly lent to a church group for an educational tour was apprehended for operating outside its authorized route.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) also canceled the registration of the CBC Bus Trans unit (AAY 2705) and blacklisted it as a public utility vehicle in its May 6 order.

Operatives of the LTFRB and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) apprehended the bus unit on Edsa in Balintawak, Quezon City, on March 5.

Operator Carlo Castillo said that as a parishioner, he allowed the free use of the bus for the educational tour in Quezon City of the Youth for Christ members from St. Roche parish in Mayantoc, Tarlac.

An LTO resolution, however, dismissed this as a “flimsy excuse” and said that according to the law, when a vehicle is used by a person other than the owner, it is presumed to be engaged in a for-hire activity.

The LTO said that the respondent was guilty of being a “colorum” (a unit operating illegally) on the grounds that it was loaded with students who were on their way to an e-commerce seminar in Quezon City. The bus was authorized to ply only the Camiling-Tarlac provincial route.

Board member Ariel Inton said it was important to secure a special permit before a PUV can operate in a different route.