Group warns repeat of Monday’s commuter woes due to bus coding

Even if bus drivers and operators have decided not to go on strike, thousands of Metro Manila commuters will still have a tough time getting a ride due to lack of buses on the road, a transport group said Tuesday night. A report on 24Oras said bus operators belonging to the Metro Bus Transport Club (MBTC) warned that a repeat of Monday’s scenario – where thousands of commuters were stranded in Metro Manila's main streets – is likely due to the enforcement of the number coding. MBTC claimed it represents at least 29 operators, and that hundreds of buses of its members will be forced off the streets. Also, it said hundreds of buses operated by firms that are not members of MBTC will be affected. Each bus carries 50 people at the minimum in a single trip, and at least 100,000 commuters will be affected at any single time by grounding some of MBTC’s buses each day, it said. According to the group, Monday’s transport woes were caused by the number coding scheme, and not of any bus strike. "Hangga't nandyan po ang number coding na wala pa tayong eksaktong numero kung ilan ang tinatamaan bawat araw, ay magiging ganyan po araw-araw ang makikita natin. Dahil po maiistranded po ang mga tao," MBTC’s lawyer and spokeswoman Grace Aducul. (For as long as the coding scheme is enforced, and the exact number of buses affected each day is not taken into account, Metro Manila’s commuters will see a daily repeat of Monday’s inconvenience.) At least three thousand passengers were stranded early Monday, as they jostled for space in the few buses that plied the stretch of EDSA from Quezon City to Mandaluyong City, the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) reported. News reports also said many passengers were stranded in Kamuning area and East Avenues in Quezon City. Transport authorities have blamed a strike by bus operators for Monday’s sudden lack of buses, but operators say that this was only the expected effect of the implementation of the MMDA's number coding scheme Under the MMDA's scheme, passenger buses are barred from plying the streets depending on the last digit of their license plate numbers. Those with license plates ending in 1 and 2 are banned on Mondays; 3 and 4 on Tuesdays; 5 and 6 on Wednesdays; 7 and 8 on Thursdays; and 9 and 0 on Fridays. The scheme aims to reduce by 20 percent the number of buses traversing the streets of the capital. The number coding scheme for PUBs was approved by Metro Manila mayors on Oct. 15 and was implemented on an experimental basis on Monday. Operators present alternative The South Luzon Bus Operators Association (SLBOA), whose buses ply the routes south of Metro Manila, has decided not to participate in any strike or action. Instead, it plans to submit an alternative bus reduction scheme to the MMDA. "We would like to suggest na bigyan kami ng access card, para kami ang makapili kung ano ang bus na papapasukin namin sa Metro Manila," said Homer Mercado, president of the SLBOA, said. (We would like to suggest the distribution of access cards, so that bus operators can control the number of buses allowed to enter Metro Manila.) MMDA prepares for strike Several transport groups and bus operators have continued to oppose the scheme, hinting a a “soft strike" may resume on Wednesday. The MMDA, which vowed to implement strictly its number-coding scheme on Wednesday, said it will continue to give free rides in the event of a strike. Free rides will be provided in coordination with the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP), the Philippine National Police (PNP) and local government units, MMDA Chair Francis Tolentino said. Focus will be placed on congested areas such as Commonwealth, EDSA and Ortigas, MMDA chairman Francis Tolentino said. Stranded commuters can call the MMDA Metrobase hotline 136. Franchises may be suspended On Tuesday, transport authorities threatened to suspend — or even cancel — the franchises of bus operators who are proven to have participated in Monday's strike. Authorities expressed disbelief over a transport group's claim that there was no strike, or that it was unintended. As bus operators claimed that the lack of buses on Monday was caused by “miscommunication" with drivers without cellphones who did not go to work because they “thought" there was a strike, Department of Transportation and Communications Secretary Jose "Ping" de Jesus still said operators would not be exempted from being sanctioned. "I think whether you call it a strike or not, the effect is there and everybody felt the effect," De Jesus said at a press briefing in Malacañang. De Jesus said there was even one report about a bus operator locking the garage to keep drivers from plying their routes. Claire de la Fuente, president of the Integrated Metro Bus Operators Association said that drivers, and not operators, should be blamed for what happened. She claimed that there was no strike at all. Tolentino, however, insisted that there was a strike, which he described as a "planned, deliberate and concerted efforts on the parts of holders of certificates of public convenience to disrupt the delivery of basic services to the prejudice of the riding public." Aquino has since ordered the DOTC not just to investigate the strike but to hold dialogues with government agencies and stakeholders to identify measures that should be taken to reduce traffic on EDSA and other major roads in the metropolis. — Dani Molintas/LBG, GMANews.TV