The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Monday that it is mulling to shut down an illegal bus terminal in Pasay City and similar establishments in other cities.
In Oscar Oida’s report in “24 Oras”, Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon flagged the poor state of the said bus terminal – from the dirty and small washrooms, passengers waiting under a makeshift shed made from tarpaulin, the lack of cooling fans, among others.
“Nakita niyo naman kung gaano kaganda ang PITX ‘di ba? Eh bakit may ganito? Hindi dapat ina-allow yung ganito. This is not a legal terminal. Hindi ko alam how can this exist,” said Dizon during his inspection of bus terminals amid the Holy Week exodus.
(You saw how nice the PITX is, right? So how come we have something like this? This should not be allowed to operate. This is not a legal terminal. I don’t know how this exists.)
The DOTr chief noted that it’s unfair for passengers to experience such poor facilities as some of them said they spent up to more than P2,000 for their trips.
“May mga kausap ako doon, P1,500, P2,800, P2,500 ang binayad para bumiyahe. Tapos hindi ka man lang makapagbigay ng upuan. Hindi ka man lang makapag padala dito ng electric fan man lang,” said Dizon.
(I talked to some passengers and they said they paid P1,500, P2,800, P2,500 for their trips. But it’s so unfortunate that they were not provided with any chairs. No electric fans are available.)
Expressing his disappointment, Dizon warned the owners of the said bus terminal in Pasay City.
“I’m calling on the owners, you better be ready to explain to us why are you running an illegal terminal here in Pasay. Papatawag namin po kayo. Pasensyahan po tayo (We are summoning you. I’m sorry but this needs to be done),” he said
The DOTr said it is already planning to build a bus terminal in Valenzuela City similar to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange or PITX.
PITX
Dizon also inspected the situation at PITX amid the influx of passengers this Holy Week.
However, the Transportation chief noted that there are things that need to be improved or addressed in the terminal such as the need for more restrooms, dispatchers who endure the summer heat, and the lack of estimated time of arrival in the signages for short travels.
“Ang sinabi sa akin is yung operator daw ng mga maiiksing biyaheng bus, hindi on time at walang oras, na pagdating nila dito, na fixed. Eh problema ‘yun,” said Dizon.
(What I’ve been told is that the operator of buses for short travels don’t arrive on time and there’s no fixed time. That’s a problem.)
For its part, the PITX management said that it welcomes the suggestions from the DOTr.
“We don’t think naman na perfect na yung ating terminal. Of course, open tayo sa suggestions. Siyempre gusto natin palaging mag-improve para sa ganun mas maganda pa yung serbisyo natin sa publiko,” said PITX spokesperson Jay Salvador.
(We don’t think that our terminal is perfect. Of course, we are open to suggestions. Of course we want to improve our service to the public.)
Further, PITX assured that there are enough buses to cater all the passengers amid the influx.
“Mayroon tayong mga standby units and yung LTFRB, bukod sa nag-issue na sila ng mga special permits, mayroon silang tao on the ground. Para kung sakaling kakailanganin ng additional units, special trips, makakapag-issue kaagad sila ng special permits,” said Salvador.
(We have standby units and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, aside from issuing special permits, they also have people on the ground who can immediately issue additional units, special trips.)
As of the time of this report, there were more than 134,000 passengers in PITX and the volume is expected to increase before Maundy Thursday. —Vince Angelo Ferreras/RF, GMA Integrated News
