MANILA-BOUND Passengers bound for Metro Manila wait for their turn to board buses at a terminal in Dagupan City, Pangasinan province. 鈥擶ILLIE LOMIBAO
Officials of a major provincial bus line servicing provinces in northern and Central Luzon said there was no guarantee that the removal of provincial bus terminals on Edsa would ease traffic congestion in Metro Manila.
Pocholo Galian, Victory Liner Inc. (VLI) area manager in Olongapo City, said provincial commuters would have a harder time getting off at the Valenzuela City common terminal, which has been designated by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), to catch a taxi or a city bus to reach their final destinations in the capital.
VLI is one of the country鈥檚 largest transport firms, with a fleet of 917 buses that ply the provinces of Zambales, Pangasinan, Bulacan, Pampanga and Bataan, Baguio City and Cagayan Valley region.
Private vehicles
鈥淭he main reason for traffic is private cars. There should be more drastic measures imposed on private cars instead of banning provincial buses,鈥� Galian said in a statement.
Raul Ecaldre, the company鈥檚 customer care relations officer, said the ban would inconvenience passengers. 鈥淲e have advance bookings and we may have to cancel them and refund the customers,鈥� he said.
He said the company was still waiting for the final decision of the MMDA and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board on the implementation of the ban.
Commuters鈥� woes
The MMDA general manager, Jojo Garcia, on Monday said the MMDA was considering either Aug. 6 or Aug. 7 to start the provincial bus ban.
Adel Briones, who commutes daily from Pampanga to Metro Manila, said the MMDA policy 鈥済oes against all common sense and logic.鈥�
鈥淭hey [MMDA] will ram it down the commuters鈥� throats as if it will solve the traffic problem,鈥� Briones said in a Facebook post.
He added: 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the interest behind this very strong stance of the MMDA? Who are the backers? Who will ultimately benefit? Because even a 4-year-old child can understand there鈥檚 something very, very wrong with this policy.鈥濃��Reports from Joanna Rose Aglibot, Yolanda Sotelo and Tonette Orejas