The Metro Manila Development Authority on Wednesday managed to shut down only three of the 10 bus terminals along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Quezon City, despite the terminals already found violating a government policy on traffic since October last year.
Ordered closed were bus terminals of Dimple Star and Roro Bus Liner, while a cease-and-desist order was served against DLTB Co.
The MMDA and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board declared the three bus terminals as public nuisance in the area.
“Imagine how much traffic they caused in the barangay. You’re not allowed as a terminal. They were the subjects of a cease and desist order, revoked permit for not complying. The LTFRB immediately went here to issue the show cause order. The barangay itself file a complaint against them,” said MMDA traffic supervising officer for operations Edison Nebrija.
“They have the right permit to operate as garage terminal, but there is a problem, they were not able to secure a barangay clearance and the BPLO (Business Permit and Licensing Office of Quezon City) required a barangay clearance,” he added.
On the other hand, the other seven bus firms—Lucena Lines, Raymund Bus, St. Rafael, Our Lady of Salvacion, Jam Liner, Superlines and Victory Liner—will be served with a final notice to comply with the Nose-In Nose-Out rule and other policies concerning bus terminal structures on Edsa.
The Nose-In Nose-Out policy means that buses must go into and out of the terminal front-end first, instead of backing up or maneuvering on Edsa and causing bottlenecks. The measure should force bus drivers to maneuver or make a turnaround within the terminal itself.
It also requires buses to get in and out of the terminals in one simple maneuver and they are not allowed to load and unload outside their respective terminals.
“We need final inspection concerning the other seven. We have due process to follow even though they are not compliant. We [MMDA] have no mandate to close down terminals,” Nebrija said.
He added the seven bus firms “came up with something because they knew and we announced it.”
“The BPLO follows a certain due process. There was misconception. We have a plan to close these ten, but we need to adhere to (procedures to) prevent technicalities. We are enthusiastic to close it down for their non-compliance since October, we have given them so much time,” said Nebrija.
“We already filed a complaint with BPLO, then they will be one to issue a show cause order. They will be given a grace period from five to 15 days based on the premise. It will depend on the provision they need to comply with,” he added.
The ten bus firms, according to MMDA chairman Danilo Lim, violated the Nose-In Nose-Out rule and other traffic measures being enforced by the government.
“You can see there are no facilities for the convenience of the passengers. They already knew our policy long enough and yet they failed to comply. We will give them a final notice and within five days, if they still ignore it, then we will shut them down,” said Lim.
Lim said after their operations in Quezon City, their next targets will be the bus terminals in Pasay City.
Last January, the MMDA already came up with a recommendation to close nine out of 16 bus companies along Edsa in Pasay City found violating the traffic scheme. Most of the bus companies lacked the maneuvering space at their own terminals, a clear violation of the policy.