By Brian Campued
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) called out public utility vehicles (PUV) that are not providing a 20% discount for regular passengers, stressing that such action is “illegal” under the Service Contracting Program (SCP) of the government.
This, as the LTFRB issued a show cause order against the operator, driver, and conductor of a bus under the SCP after a netizen complained that the discount system was not observed.
Under the rules and regulations of the program, PUVs must provide a 20% discount to all regular passengers and a total of 40% discount for students, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
Aside from failure to provide the discount, the complainant said that the bus conductor did not also issue a ticket and did not give the change.
“This is not how the program works and there is no excuse for failure to provide the necessary discount to all passengers,” LTFRB Chairperson Vigor Mendoza II said.
Mendoza assured the public that erring PUVs will be dealt with accordingly, in line with the directive of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. to protect the welfare of the commuters while ensuring that the public transport sector is still being prioritized amid the current global oil shocks.
“We will deal with this and assure all our kababayan, especially those who are availing public utility vehicles under service contracting that the LTFRB and the DOTr (Department of Transportation) will fight for your right by running after those who would dare ignore the provisions of this program,” he added.
In the SCO, the bus operator was asked to explain in writing why its franchise should not be suspended or cancelled for failing to follow the rules and regulations on the SCP.
The LTFRB has also scheduled the hearing on May 11, and failure to appear and file an answer constitutes the imposition of a P5,000 penalty.
Meanwhile, Mendoza urged the commuters to report cases of abuse and non-compliance with the SCP rules through LTFRB official channels.
Under the service contracting scheme, which was rolled out on April 15, bus drivers and operators will receive additional revenue of as much as P100 per kilometer while modern and traditional jeepneys will get P40 per km and P30 per km, respectively.
Participating PUVs must display a tarpaulin, posters, and a fare matrix so passengers can easily see their discounted fare.
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