By Aerol John Pateña/PNA
MANILA — Twenty new routes for public utility vehicles (PUVs) were opened along the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) to ensure ease of travel of commuters and smooth operations in the facility.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued Memorandum Circular No. 2019-005 last Wednesday which authorized 10 new routes for public utility buses (PUBs), two UV Express routes, and eight routes for Class 2 public utility jeepneys for PITX to serve consumers from the southwest part of Greater Manila Area going to Metro Manila daily.
The following are the new routes that will operate along the land port:
I. PUB (10)
PITX – Ternate: 30 units
PITX – Alfonso/Mendez: 28 units
PITX – Palapala, Dasmariñas: 30 units
PITX – Silang, Cavite: 38 units
PITX – Tagaytay City: 38 units
PITX – Cavite City: 15 units
PITX – Indang: 35 units
PITX – Manggahan, General Trias: 35 units
PITX – Lancaster New City: 15 units
PITX – Nasugbu via Ternate: 20 units
II. UV Express Van / Class 3 PUJ (2)
PITX – Alabang: 33 units
PITX – Tanza: 38 units
III. Class 2 PUJ (8)
PITX – Bayan Luma, Imus: 50 units
PITX – Alabang: 33 units
PITX – Tanza: 38 units
PITX – Bicutan via East Service Road: 20 units
PITX – Bicutan via West Service Road: 20 units
PITX – Sucat via Sucat Avenue: 33 units
PITX – Blumentritt: 55 units
PITX – Bacoor: 28 units
The LTFRB has mandated that franchises should be granted only to PUVs that are compliant with the PUV Modernization Program.
“Public utility bus units must be single decked and are compliant with Euro 4 or much efficient emission standards, low flooring, has at least two doors (front and rear), air-conditioned with CCTV, dashboard camera, free Wi-Fi and automatic fare collection system. The compensation for the drivers must be salary-based and not on commission basis,” the Board’s statement read.
“For the UV Express, only those units that comply with the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines (OFG) will be accepted while the Class 2 or Class 3 PUJ units need to follow the standards of OFG and the Department of Trade and Industry-Bureau of Product Standards (DTI-BPS),” it added.
Class 2 jeepney units have a capacity of 22 passengers and allow standing passengers while Class 3 units have a sitting capacity of more than 22 passengers.
The LTFRB memorandum states that each route will be awarded to one qualified applicant.
Applicants should have available financial resources equivalent to or exceeding the amount of PHP10 million for PUB, PHP2.2 million for UV Express and PHP2 million for PUJ multiplied by the total number of vehicles for the route above that they are applying for.
The Board will only authorize PUB units that are less than five years old and UV units that are not older than three years.
The PITX, which is the first integrated and multi-modal terminal in the southwestern part of Metro Manila, serves as a transfer point between provincial buses of Cavite and Batangas, as well as in-city modes of transportation. It also provides interconnectivity between different transport modes and services that will ensure efficient and seamless travel for commuters.
