Provincial buses in operation down to 20% amid high fuel prices —group

Only 20% to 30% of the total number of provincial buses are operating
amid the series of fuel price increases, according to the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines on Thursday.

Interviewed on Unang Balita, the group's executive director, Alex Yague, said the number of provincial buses already operating climbed to 60% in April following the loosening of COVID-19 restrictions.

“Nitong mga nakaraang linggo at tumaas nang husto yung halaga ng diesel. Kaya yung 60% na dating tumatakbo during the May election up to early June bumagsak na naman ito, 20% to 30% na lamang ang tumatakbo,” he said, without mentioning the total number of provincial buses in the country.

(The prices of diesel have really increased these past weeks. That’s why the 60% that were operating during the May elections up to early June dropped to 20% to 30%.)

Yague said the number of operating provincial buses picked up in April when operators were allowed to use their own terminals. This was a significant development as no provincial buses were allowed to operate during the height of the pandemic.

According to an Unang Balita report, around 26,000 provincial bus workers lost their jobs when operators suspended their operations due to the series of fuel price hikes.

Due to the limited number of buses, Yague said passengers have to wait longer as operators need to fill 80% to 90% of the load capacity of buses before leaving the terminals to recover expenses.  —KBK, GMA News