LTFRB okays 6 new routes for public buses
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) announced that it has approved the opening of a total of six new routes for Public Utility Buses (PUBs) that will traverse the National Capital Region and select outlying areas.
In Memorandum Circular No. 2022-083, the LTFRB gave the go-signal for the opening of new routes, namely, Antipolo – McKinley Hill via FVR Road, C-5; Antipolo – McKinley Hill via C-6; McKinley Hill – Southwoods Mall Transport Terminal; Ayala – Southwoods Mall Transport Terminal; Alabang (SST) – Naic via Governor’s Drive; and Cubao – Dasmariñas via Governor’s Drive.
Under the guidelines stated in the memorandum, interested operators who have consolidated operationally and with brand new or Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG)-compliant units will be given preference
The memorandum further adds that “if the selected qualified operators have no brand new/OFG compliant units, the applicant is given six months to operate non-compliant units, leased or owned, with special permit during the interim period.”
“The decision to open new bus routes came after extensive monitoring and ground validation, and we saw the need to provide more public land transportation services because of increasing passenger demand,” according to Joel Bolano, head of the Technical Division of the LTFRB.
“We hope that these new bus routes will provide convenience to passengers commuting via these areas as we slowly traverse the new normal. We therefore appeal to our riding public for more patience as we are continually studying the viability of opening more routes, whether new or existing, with great consideration of current health protocols so that passengers can travel safely and easily,” said LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III.
