LTFRB exec: Ready for All Saints’ Day

By JIGGER J. JERUSALEM,
Correspondent

THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board yesterday said mechanisms have already been put in place to ensure a safe travel of people ahead of the observance of the All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day this weekend.

AminodenGuro, LTFRB director for northern Mindanao, said bus companies were told to deploy more safety officers to prevent untoward incidents.

“Aside from security guards, bus companies must see to it that there are enough safety officers to check the buses before traveling,” Guro said.

The deployment of safety officers is part of the Department of Transportation’s program, under the Office of Transport Security (OTS), to see to it that the commuting public will not be in harm’s way so that they could arrive to their destinations safely.

These safety officers, he said, have been oriented by the OTS on courses of action to take in case they find bombs, for instance.

He said LTFRB personnel in the region are also checking buses if they are equipped with closed-circuit television cameras, dashboard cameras, global positioning systems, and wireless internet connections.

Bus operators have been required by the transportation department to install these gadgets as compliance to the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines.

LTFRB has been checking the roadworthiness of buse even as it reminded bus owners to replace worn-out tires, fix engine and mechanical problems, and assign extra drivers for fleets that ply long-distance routes.

Guro said two bus companies – Rural Transit Mindanao Inc. and Super Five Bus Transport Inc. – have requested the LTFRB for the issuance of special permits for their fleet to ply outside their authorized routes due to passenger demand.

“We issued more than 60 special permits to RTMI and Super 5,” he said.

The LTFRB has also set up public help desks at the two bus terminals in Barangay Lapasan and Barangay Bulua to help commuters in need of assistance, especially persons with disability, senior citizens, lactating mothers, and pregnant women.

Also, out of 100 people subjected to an unannounced drug testing conducted by the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency early this week, none has tested positive for traces of illegal substance in their urine samples here.

Those who underwent the random drug examination were bus drivers, barkers, van drivers, and taxi drivers.