LTFRB issued special permits for 639 additional provincial buses for Christmas season — official

Special permits have been given to 639 additional provincial buses to accommodate the expected influx of passengers during the Christmas season, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Thursday.

“As of yesterday, may na-issue na tayo na 639 units na special permits para po doon sa papuntang probinsya, both north and south po ito,“ LTFRB  technical division chief Joel Bolano said at a televised public briefing.

(As of yesterday, we issued special permits to 639 provincial bus units, for both north and south.)

The application for a special permit is already closed, but Bolano said they will issue more special permits if there is an urgent need for additional units during bus operations.

Meanwhile, Bolano said the situation in bus terminals is still manageable amid the expected influx of passengers ahead of the Christmas Day celebration.

Bolano said their personnel have been deployed to monitor the situation in some terminals.

“As of last night, based doon sa mga tao natin na naka-deploy sa mga specific terminals like for example yung [Integrated Terminal Exchange] natin, so far manageable pa sang ayon yung ating mga buses at mga pasahero,” he said.

(As of last night, based on the assessment of our personnel deployed in specific terminals like our ITX, so far the buses and passengers were still manageable.)

The LTFRB has been preparing for the influx of passengers during the holiday season in coordination with the Philippine National Police (PNP), Inter-Agency Council for Traffic, and local governments.

In November, the  Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said the Christmas rush will add 10%-20% to the traffic volume.

The PNP said around 190,000 of its personnel would be deployed to ensure public safety during the Christmas season.

It will implement Oplan Ligtas Pasko, increasing police visibility and patrols in places where people are likely to congregate including terminals. — RSJ, GMA Integrated News