LTFRB to open PUV routes for commuters affected by closure of PNR stations

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will open new public utility vehicle (PUV) routes ifor commuters who would be affected by the temporary closure of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) due to the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR). In a statement released on Thursday, June 22, the LTFRB said around 30,000 commuters per day are expected to be affected by the NSCR's construction, a 147-kilometer urban railway network that would link Metro Manila to Pampanga and Laguna. The development is expected to last for about five years, or until 2028. Under Memorandum Circular No. 2023-020, the LTFRB, in collaboration with the PNR, designated three routes that will service the PNR stations affected by the closure. The agency said the three routes that it opened for the qualification process were FTI-Divisoria via East Service Road and Alabang (Starmall) – Divisoria via the South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) for Public Utility Buses (PUBs), and Malabon-Divisoria, which will be serviced by Modern Public Utility Jeepneys (MPUJs) “A total of 30 PUB units will ply the FTI-Divisoria route, 25 PUBs for Alabang (Starmall) – Divisoria, and five MPUJs for Malabon-Divisoria,” the LTFRB noted. However, the memorandum stated that “the number of units may be modified accordingly depending on passenger demand.” The LTFRB said the selection process will be governed by Memorandum Circular No. 2019-013 ("Consolidated Guidelines on the Process of Issuance of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) and Provisional Authority (PA)/Special Permit (SP) Under the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines and Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).” The units authorized to operate, per the memorandum, should not be over five years old based on the vehicle's Certificate of Registration with the Land Transportation Office (LTO), should operate under an SP for one year and renewable every year thereafter, or until the NSCR is fully operational, and the existing fare for city buses as authorized by the LTFRB shall be applied. LTFRB Chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III said the impact of the closure of the PNR stations on commuters will be “quite substantial”, thus the LTFRB wants to mitigate the impact with the new PUV routes. “We appreciate the help of the PNR in identifying the routes, and we know that once the NSCR is completed, its benefits would be truly worth it in terms of passenger mobility along our railways, which is regarded as one of the most convenient and affordable modes of public transportation in the country,” he said.