The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Wednesday, April 20, that it did not have anything to do with the 10 p.m.-to-5 a.m. window hour scheme for provincial buses entering Metro Manila.
This, as commuters complained of the inconvenience that the window hours scheme to them which were posted in various social media platforms. This became an issue on Wednesday, April 20, as some provincial bus operators issued an announcement that their operations would be during nighttime in compliance with the agreement they had with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA).
In a statement, the LTFRB said that while they are aware of the scheme, it emphasized that the agreement was between the MMDA and provincial bus operators.
"At the outset, the LTFRB would like to clarify that the agency is not privy to the said agreement but was informed of this prior to the more than two-weeks dry run of the said scheme by MMDA, and that the agency respects the said policy they are implementing," the statement read.
"However, we would like to emphasize also that observance of the window scheme of the MMDA should not connote that provincial bus operations shall only commence and terminate public land transportation services at night time from 10:00 PM to 5:00 AM," it added.
The LTFRB said that based on the agreement, provincial bus operators may use their private terminals only from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. and beyond that, their origin and destination must be at the following terminals:
PITX - Quezon, Region 4-B MIMAROPA, and Bicol
PITX at Araneta Center Cubao - Region 4-A CALABARZON
NLET - Region 1, 2, and CAR
NLET and Araneta Center Cubao - Region 3
SRIT - provincial buses from Visayas and Mindanao
"It should be noted that permits to operate were given to these provincial bus operators to transport passengers at any given time when there is passenger demand, and not only at night time as they have announced in several platforms," the statement read.
The agency also vowed to hold accountable those behind the absence of provincial buses at the Dau Terminal in Pampanga which resulted in hundreds of commuters being stranded.
"The situation in Pampanga right now, as reported by our LTFRB Region III personnel, where there are many stranded passengers in Dau Terminal waiting for the absent provincial buses to ferry them to their destinations in Metro Manila, is very heart-rending and should not be tolerated," the statement read.
"The provincial bus operators should be responsible enough to abide by their agreement with the MMDA and its duties and responsibilities as a common carrier. For their non-compliance, which is a blatant violation of their special permits and certificate of public convience or CPC to operate, the LTFRB will hold them accountable for this flagrant violation," it added.