85% of public transport nationwide back amid pandemic —LTFRB

Public transport in the country is back at 85 percent even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Thursday.

At the Laging Handa briefing, LTFRB chairperson Martin Delgra III said six routes have been reopened recently for UV Express covering 255 units.

“As regards [the routes], we already have the capacity of 85% of the public transport in Metro Manila and all across the country,” he said.

Many violations of health protocols  are still being monitored in public transport such as not wearing face masks and face shields, lack of plastic barriers as well as overloading beyond the allowed capacity, he added.

Assistance for drivers

Delgra said the LTFRB is expecting to resume its assistance program for drivers affected by the restriction in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, he pointed out that they are still waiting for a P3-billion budget from the Department of Budget and Management to resume the Service Contracting Program or Libreng Sakay.

Under the service contracting, the beneficiaries will be hired as drivers for the Libreng Sakay project of the government, which will regulate the number of operating hours for them.

To resolve drivers’ low income due to its reliance on ridership amid the policy of limited passenger capacity, Delgra earlier said they could keep their income and, in addition, the subsidy under the program.

The assistance program initially started in October last year. This program ended as the validity of Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, which supported its funding, expired on June 30 this year. — BM, GMA News