"Bill of Rights" for commuters on the drawing board

By Jerome Carlo R. Paunan

Friday 22nd of June 2012

MANILA, June 22 (PIA) -- Transportation Secretary Mar Roxas has ordered the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to draft a bill of rights for jeepney, bus, and taxi passengers to protect them against abusive drivers and operators.

In a statement posted on the DOTC website, Roxas said the bill of rights should be similar to the one being crafted for air passengers. The official gave the directive during the 25th anniversary of the LTFRB.

He also stressed that the bill of rights should also include provisions that would safeguard drivers and operators against rude, offensive, and obnoxious passengers.

Roxas likewise directed the LTFRB to improve procedures in issuing new land transport service route franchises; gradually convert public utility vehicles to use eco-friendly engines; and play a bigger role in the planned Integrated Transport System (ITS) project.

On the issuance of new route franchises, Roxas said he wants the LTFRB to grant franchises through an open, transparent bidding process, where potential operators would bid for new franchises.

This, he said, would change the old practice in the bureaucracy, where the system is riddled with patronage and subjectivity.

Roxas also said the LTFRB would play a key role is in the gradual conversion of public utility vehicles into environment-friendly means of transport to lessen air pollution in Metro Manila and other urban centers.

To address this concern, Roxas said DOTC is making further studies in cooperation with LTFRB and other organizations to look for a viable way to implement the conversion of jeepneys to use more eco-friendly engines.

Bus companies will be immediately be affected by the new policy which, Roxas said, are more capable of making the conversion.

The third point is in line with the implementation of the integrated transport system project, where LTFRB would amend the routes of provincial buses and limit them to central bus terminals at the outskirts of the metropolis.

These buses, he said, would no longer be allowed to enter Metro Manila to ease traffic and smoke emissions from these buses.

“In a year’s time or by end of the year, these are some of the changes that we are envisioning for the LTFRB to achieve, ”Roxas stressed. (DOTC/RJB/JCP-PIA NCR)