Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 23) – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is considering opening three bus and jeepney routes amid the planned suspension of the Philippine National Railway operations.
Under Memorandum Circular No. 2023-020, the routes included are the FTI-Divisoria via East Service Road and Alabang (Starmall)-Divisoria via South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) for public buses.
Modern Public Utility Jeepneys (MPUJs), meanwhile, will have a route between Malabon and Divisoria.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said 30 units of public utility buses (PUBs) will be deployed along the FTI-Divisoria route and 25 PUB along the Alabang (Starmall)-Divisoria route.
It added that five units of MPUJs will be allowed to operate along the Malabon-Divisoria route.
The DOTr also said the selection of public utility vehicles (PUVs) is based on the 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).
Based on the certificate of registration issued by the Land Transportation Office (LTO), operations of authorized PUVs should not exceed five years.
“Kinakailangan na pumasada ang sasakyan gamit ang special permit na may bisa sa loob ng isang (1) taon at maaaring i-renew kada taon o hanggang sa ganap nang maging bukas sa publiko ang operasyon ng NSCR (North-South Commuter Railway),” DOTr said in a statement Friday.
[Translate: Vehicles should operate using the special permit that is effective for one year, and can be renewed every year or until the operations of the NSCR officially open.]
NSCR is a 147-kilometer railway project that will make way for those going to Clark airport from Malolos, Bulacan and Calamba, Laguna from Blumentritt in Manila.
PNR earlier announced that it will temporarily halt the operations of the Alabang-Calamba route beginning July 2 for the NSCR project.
READ: PNR suspends Alabang-Calamba trips for NSCR construction
https://www.cnnphilippines.com/news/2023/6/2/pnr-suspends-alabang-calamba-route-nscr-project.html
