Do all school buses have franchises?

Councilor Edgardo Labella wants the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in the region to look into reports that some school vehicles operating in the city do not own franchises.

"It has been brought to the attention of the city government of Cebu that not all school buses or vans on the road are covered by the mandated LTFRB-issued school transport service franchise," Labella said.

Labella said that if these reports were true then the operation of these school vehicles do not only harm the interest of the legitimate operators but put the safety of their passengers at risk.

Considering that these vehicles do not have franchises, Labella said there is a possibility that LTFRB policies on safety requirements as provided for in the LTFRB Memorandum Circular No. 2004-042 are also violated.

The said memorandum stipulates that school services should comply with the set of requirements provided for to effectively increase the safety and security of school buses, such as the installation of safety devices, including seatbelts.

It also requires school buses to put entry and exit doors either at the rear or right side and for school vans to remove jump seats to allow easy access to entry and exit doors from the last row of seats.

In addition to these, installation of steel grilled windows of one-inch mesh size at all sides is also a requirement and that portable fire extinguishers must be placed inside the school vehicles.

As for the markings on the vehicle, a dark yellow rectangle on both sides, three meters by one meter in size, should be painted on the vehicle with a 40-cm "School Service" inscription in a single line, black color and name of the school, about 25 cm in size.

Also, the alternate chevron markings on the school service, diagonal black and yellow at the front and rear, should be visible from a 50-meter distance. Adequate ventilation is also required and the vehicles should not be more than 15 years old.

The same memorandum also provides that a portable "Stop and Go" sign must be carried by the conductor when the kids cross the street.

Citing the cancellation of about 3,117 school bus service franchises earlier this month for violating the LTFRB policies, Labella said the same kind of operation should be done here by the LTFRB regional office.

Meanwhile, the city council during its regular session last week adopted the proposed resolution of councilor Gerardo Carillo urging the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group-7 and other concerned agencies to conduct an investigation on the reported proliferation of "bogus and scheming solicitation" using scholarships for children as a scheme.

The matter was taken up earlier by the Cebu City Commission for the Welfare and Protection of Children since reports say that there are people soliciting around the city and even selling items for the purpose of allegedly sponsoring scholarships for the underprivileged children.

"In the process of soliciting funds they distributed a piece of paper or brochure with contact numbers indicated therein. But when the numbers were verified, nobody could be reached or contacted," Carillo said.