The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is set to open several public utility vehicle (PUV) routes that would serve regular commuters of the Philippine National Railways (PNR) who will be affected by the temporary closure of select stations. Through Memorandum Circular 2023-020 released Thursday, the LTFRB said three routes have been opened for ‘qualification process’ – FTI-Divisoria via East Service Road, Alabang (Starmall) – Divisoria via the Southern Luzon Expressway (SLEX), and Malabon-Divisoria. These routes are set to open following plans to temporarily close some PNR stations to make way for the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR). ‘A total of 30 public utility bus (PUB) units will ply the FTI-Divisoria route, 25 PUBs for Alabang (Starmall) – Divisoria, and five modern jeepneys for Malabon-Divisoria,’ it said. It noted that the number of units in these routes may change depending on passenger demand. The memorandum was issued by the LTFRB’s Franchise Planning and Monitoring Division, together with the PNR. Selection of the operators that will run the routes, it said, would be guided by Memorandum Circular 2019-013 or the ‘Consolidated Guidelines on the Process of Issuance of Certificate of Public Convenience (CPC) and Provisional Authority (PA)/Special Permit (SP) Under the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines and Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).’ It added that the authorized units should not be more than five years old based on the vehicle’s certificate of registration, should operate under an SP for one year and renewable every year, or until the NSCR is fully operational. The existing fare for city buses, as authorized by the LTFRB, will be applied to the two PUB routes. The NSCR is a 147-km. urban railway network that will connect Metro Manila to Pampanga in the north and Laguna in the south. The rail project is expected to be completed by 2028
Source: Philippines News Agency