MANILA — The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) is set to be operational by October this year.
This, as the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has issued a directive that all provincial buses and other kinds of public transportation coming from provinces southwest of Metro Manila must end their trips at the PITX.
“All provincial public utility buses, UV Express service and public utility jitneys originating from provinces southwest of Metro Manila entering via Coastal Road and Manila Cavite Expressway shall end their routes at the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) in Coastal Road Parañaque from the date PITX is fully operational,” the LTFRB said in Memorandum Circular 2018-20 on September 13.
The board has also ordered that all city buses, UV express service and jeepneys, whose endpoints are Baclaran and the Mall of Asia, shall be extended to facilitate the transfer of passengers.
For his part, Department of Transportation Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon said the transfer of the provincial buses and other public utility vehicles to the PITX will start next month.
“October is the start of transition period. We are talking about readiness of all modes of transport to terminate in the facility and also the readiness of the facility to accept these operators. There will be a duration for commissioning and testing,” de Leon said in a text message to the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on Tuesday.
The PITX, which will be the first intermodal transport in the country, is projected to accommodate up to 200,000 train, jeepney and bus passengers per day.
The terminal will connect passengers coming from the Cavite side to other transport systems such as the future LRT Line 1 South Extension, city bus, taxi, and other public utility vehicles that are serving inner Metro Manila.
It will feature passenger terminal buildings, loading and unloading bays, staging bays, ticketing and baggage handling facilities, as well as park-ride facilities. Commuters can also make use of the free Wi-Fi, charging outlets and an online ticketing system. (Aerol John Pateña/PNA)
