LTFRB conditions for free shuttle service ‘unreasonable,’ says Makati gov’t

MANILA, Philippines–The city government of Makati said the conditions that the Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has set before it could grant special permit for the city’s free shuttle service from Quezon City to Makati’s financial district were “improper and unreasonable.”

The LTFRB, in an order dated May 16, has required passengers of Makati’s shuttle buses to buy a single-journey MRT ticket and present an ID issued by a Makati-based company.

On March 27 the city government started ferrying commuters from MRT North Avenue Station in Quezon City to the Makati Stock Exchange Building on Ayala Avenue to ease the burden of those who have to contend with long lines outside the MRT station and the train’s frequent breakdowns. The LTFRB had asked the city government to secure a special permit and
submit required documents including the ID of the city’s authorized representative, the official receipt and the certificate of registration of the buses used, Passenger Accident Liability Insurance, and Sangguniang Panlungsod (city council) resolution providing the free transport service.

After the city government submitted the documents that the LTFRB had asked, it laid down new conditions for the commuters, including buying an MRT ticket.

City legal officer Kenneth Dasal said that imposing the conditions “is an invalid exercise of LTFRB’s power” and “contrary to public interest and welfare.”

Dasal pointed out that besides defeating the purpose of a “free” transport service for Makati commuters, lining up to purchase a single-journey ticket on the same date would greatly inconvenience the commuters the city government wanted to help.

“The fact that they will not use the MRT ticket to ride the MRT trains makes such condition oppressive as well,” he said.

“How could this requirement benefit the Makati commuters and also solve the
long queues in MRT?” Dasal said.

The city government has also asked the LTFRB to do away with the condition requiring commuters to present a company ID as proof of employment in Makati. The city counsel argued that the free transport service, offering point-to-point, non-stop trips from MRT North Avenue station to Ayala Avenue in Makati, is for the benefit of all commuters going to Makati, not
just employees working in the city.

“The LTFRB was established for the purpose of ensuring that the commuting public has adequate, safe, convenient, environment-friendly and dependable public land transportation services. Therefore, its requirements must have a reasonable relation to its purpose,” Dasal stated in the city’s motion for partial reconsideration.

Despite the snag, the free bus service has been going on since March. Makati Mayor Jejomar Erwin “Junjun” Binay Jr. has even promised that the city government would buy four more new buses to augment the six city-owned vehicles being used for the free transport program.

The six-vehicle convoy has been regularly ferrying Makati-bound commuters from Monday to Friday, making two trips daily between 6 a.m. and 9 a.m. from its pick-up point along North Avenue-Edsa to Ayala Avenue.