THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 is set to implement a second scheme for the Free Ride Service Contracting Program in Bohol and Cebu; this time, extending the free ride service to authorized persons outside of residence (Apor) in addition to healthcare workers.
Eduardo Montealto Jr., LTFRB 7 director, said they are in talks with several operators of public utility buses (PUBs), modern public utility jeepneys (MPUJs) and tourist transport about the program.
Some of them, he said, are the operators of the MyBus, Ceres bus (the Vallacar Transit Inc.) and transportation cooperative such as El Pardo Corp., among others.
Montealto said they are eyeing to deploy at least 56 units of combined PUBs and MPUJs under the second scheme of free ride service in Cebu alone.
This number however, will still be adjusted depending on the number of tourist vans they can get for the program.
The program aims to provide healthcare workers and Apor easy access to transportation amid the pandemic and help them economically too, by making the service free for them.
He said the program is seen to last until June 2021 depending on the Covid-19 situation in the country.
He said as of now, there is no definite date when they can start deploying the units.
He said they are still finalizing the routes of the service vehicles, but these will surely cover the 19 hospitals in Cebu.
Under the second scheme, he said they proposed to give bus operators an P82 incentive per kilometer that they will cover.
He said for buses alone, they estimate that each unit can cover an average of 200 kilometers per day.
He said 30 percent of that incentive will go to the driver while the 70 percent goes to the operator.
He said to avail of the free ride service, one has to present his employment/company ID or employment certification. (WBS)