LTFRB expects over 2 M commuters under GCQ
Published May 11, 2020 00:00 am
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Updated May 11, 2020 00:00 am
By Vanne Terrazola
Over two million commuters are expected to use public transportation in Metro Manila if the enhanced community (ECQ) is lifted after May 15, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Monday.
(ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra gave the estimate during the Senate Committee on Public Services’ inquiry into the resumption of mass transportation under general community quarantine (GCQ).
Public transport operations were suspended since Luzon was placed under ECQ last March 16 to counter the COVID-19 outbreak. President Duterte later extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and other high-risk areas until May 15.
According to Delgra, they are expecting 30 percent of the 11 million estimated commuting population to return to the metropolis' roads should the government decide to lift the ECQ and majority are public transport users.
“That would be 3.4 million, but the 70 percent of that will be taken care of by public transport,” Delgra said when asked by the Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on the number of commuters that the government is expecting to serve.
About 1 million of the returning commuters, on the other hand, are seen to take private modes of transport, such as cars and bikes.
Delgra maintained that non-essential travel should still be prohibited while the country has yet to curb the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“In fact, our messaging is, kung wala pong dahilan na lumabas ng bahay (if there is no reason to go out of their homes) – again because this is a public health consideration – kung pwede, manatili na lang sa bahay muna (if possible, they should remain in their homes),” he said.
Under the Department of Transportation's guidelines for the resumption of public transportation under the GCQ, public utility vehicle (PUVs) should secure a special permit to be able to ply the road again.
However, PUVs shall operate at 50 percent capacity and in compliance with health safety protocols, such as physical distancing and the mandatory use of face masks by drivers and passengers.
Delgra said that to ensure efficiency and safety of mass transportation post-ECQ, routes would have to be identified and rationalized.
The LTFRB head said PUVs that are able to accommodate more passengers would also be prioritized for the resumption of operations, namely, buses and modern jeepneys, before traditional jeepneys
He said the situation is an opportunity to rationalize PUV routes and implement "reforms" in public transport to solve the country's persisting problem on traffic congestion, especially in EDSA.
Meanwhile, DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan told the Senate public services panel that the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3), Light Rail Transit (LRT-1), LRT-2, and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) shall operate at a 14-percent passenger capacity once the GCQ takes effect.
For instance, only a total of 150 passengers per MRT-3 train set will be allowed so that passengers would comply with distancing measures.
To control the surge of passengers in stations, Batan said they will deploy skip train and implement "block loading" of passengers. Train marshalls will make sure that commuters are not sitting or standing close to each other.
(ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra gave the estimate during the Senate Committee on Public Services’ inquiry into the resumption of mass transportation under general community quarantine (GCQ).
Public transport operations were suspended since Luzon was placed under ECQ last March 16 to counter the COVID-19 outbreak. President Duterte later extended the ECQ in Metro Manila and other high-risk areas until May 15.
According to Delgra, they are expecting 30 percent of the 11 million estimated commuting population to return to the metropolis' roads should the government decide to lift the ECQ and majority are public transport users.
“That would be 3.4 million, but the 70 percent of that will be taken care of by public transport,” Delgra said when asked by the Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto on the number of commuters that the government is expecting to serve.
About 1 million of the returning commuters, on the other hand, are seen to take private modes of transport, such as cars and bikes.
Delgra maintained that non-essential travel should still be prohibited while the country has yet to curb the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“In fact, our messaging is, kung wala pong dahilan na lumabas ng bahay (if there is no reason to go out of their homes) – again because this is a public health consideration – kung pwede, manatili na lang sa bahay muna (if possible, they should remain in their homes),” he said.
Under the Department of Transportation's guidelines for the resumption of public transportation under the GCQ, public utility vehicle (PUVs) should secure a special permit to be able to ply the road again.
However, PUVs shall operate at 50 percent capacity and in compliance with health safety protocols, such as physical distancing and the mandatory use of face masks by drivers and passengers.
Delgra said that to ensure efficiency and safety of mass transportation post-ECQ, routes would have to be identified and rationalized.
The LTFRB head said PUVs that are able to accommodate more passengers would also be prioritized for the resumption of operations, namely, buses and modern jeepneys, before traditional jeepneys
He said the situation is an opportunity to rationalize PUV routes and implement "reforms" in public transport to solve the country's persisting problem on traffic congestion, especially in EDSA.
Meanwhile, DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan told the Senate public services panel that the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3), Light Rail Transit (LRT-1), LRT-2, and the Philippine National Railways (PNR) shall operate at a 14-percent passenger capacity once the GCQ takes effect.
For instance, only a total of 150 passengers per MRT-3 train set will be allowed so that passengers would comply with distancing measures.
To control the surge of passengers in stations, Batan said they will deploy skip train and implement "block loading" of passengers. Train marshalls will make sure that commuters are not sitting or standing close to each other.