Provincial bus owners hit phaseout program

Provincial bus operators denounced yesterday the program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) to phase out buses that are 15 years old or older.

In a statement, Alejandro Yague Jr., president of the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP), said they may be forced to press the LTFRB to act on their petition filed last October for a 25-centavo hike for every succeeding kilometer after the first five kilometers.

The DOTC has ordered the LTFRB to implement the phaseout program which would take old and dilapidated buses out of the streets.

According to Yague, replacing old buses entails a huge investment.

If the program is carried out, some 6,000 buses, or nearly 40 percent of the existing units of PBOAP members, will be phased out nationwide, Yague said.

In Metro Manila, the program would affect 2,000 of 3,000 buses currently being fielded, he added.