No ‘manual’ taxi receipts by Jan 2010 - LTFRB

MANILA, Philippines - The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Friday said that by January 2010, all taxi units should be installed with receipt-issuing machines. LTFRB Chairman Thompson Lantion said this a day after announcing the deferment until July of the implementation of an order requiring taxi units to issue receipts to passengers. Aside from the deferment, the LTFRB is also allowing the Association of Taxi Operators of Metro Manila (ATOMM) to issue receipts manually beginning July until December. ATOMM has earlier requested that they be allowed to do so, fearing they would be unable to assure the government they could install machines by July because of their high cost – about P20,000 each. “Iyong sa grupo ng ATOMM pahihintulutan muna natin ang manual… Pero dapat by 2010 January lahat po automated na iyon [We allowed the ATOMM to issue receipts manually. But by January 2010, all taxis should go automated]," Lantion said in a radio interview. For its part, another taxi group – the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association (PNTOA) – has already welcomed the LTFRB’s decision and said it has no problem about using electronic ticketing machines as early as July. PNTOA president Bong Suntay was quoted as saying that unlike the ATOMM, all the PNTOA has to do is to reactivate their receipt-issuing machines that had long been installed in their units. The receipts would indicate the taxi name, address, telephone number, and driver of the day. - GMANews.TV