THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-Northern Mindanao and the Land Transportation Office (LTO) have began inspecting buses in terminals in Cagayan de Oro City and Iligan City.
LTFRB-Northern Mindanao Director Aminoden Guro said the inspection of buses, which started on October 30 until November 4, is part of the Oplan Biyaheng Ayos Undas 2017.
Guro said they were instructed to put up a Public Assistance Complaint Desk in bus terminals, adding that the personnel deployed in every terminal in Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City were carrying checklists during their inspection of the buses to check whether the public utility vehicles are road-worthy or not.
The LTFRB regional director said they deployed six personnel in each terminal in Cagayan de Oro City, Bulua Westbound Terminal and Agora Integrated Terminal, and five each in North and South Bus Terminals in Iligan City.
Guro also reminded bus drivers of overloading their vehicles with passengers, saying there should be no passenger standing inside the bus or installing seats in the aisle.
Priority lanes are also available for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs) and pregnant women. The first three seats in front of the vehicles, Guro said, should be reserved for them.
Guro added that the first three rows of the bus should have seatbelts.
So far, according to Guro, the only violation they have observed during the inspection was the lack of list of bus fares inside the bus. Such violation will be given a penalty of P5,000.
Guro added that they were not able to observe any major violations during the said inspection but if there is, the driver with violation will not be permitted to travel.
"Pero usually ang atong bus units sa Cagayan de Oro mga latest model, mga 2015-2016 nga model. In fact mas gwapo pa ang atong mga bus dinhi sa Cagayan de Oro medyo fit (But usually our bus units in Cagayan de Oro are latest models, the 2015-2016 model. In fact, our buses here in the city are much better and fit to travel)," Guro said.
Guro said traveling for more than six hours is prohibited.
"Ang atong mga driver gibawalan na nato sila ipa-drive more than six hours. Gitagaan na namo og instrutions ang mga bus company nga kung ang ilang travel is more than six hours adunay extra driver nga mopuli sa first driver (We prohibit drivers to drive for more than six hours. We already gave instructions to bus companies that if there are buses that will be travelling for more than six hours, there should be an extra driver to take over for the first driver)," Guro said.
The passengers, meanwhile, were also discouraged to bring large bagage during their trip as it will be an inconvenience to the other passengers.
Guro informed students that the 20 percent discount in bus fares has already taken effect.
LTO Regional Director Oscar Salcedo, meanwhile, said passengers should always follow the guidelines in every terminal and avoid pushing other travellers.
"Dapat walang tulakan, just follow the lines. Dapat hindi sila mag dali-dali para walay dautang mahitabo along the way (They should not push other travellers, just follow the lines. And avoid moving quickly so that accidents will not happen along the way)," Salcedo said.