The Department of Transportation asked MWM Terminals Inc., the concessionaire of the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange, to comply with its concession agreement and implement improvements for a more efficient operation of the country’s first “landport”.
Transportation Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark de Leon, in a letter dated Dec. 18 to MWM Terminals president Manuel Louie Ferrer, noted several operational issues inside PITX and recommended courses of action to ensure the concessionaire’s compliance with the CA for the benefit and convenience of the commuting public.
These include the submission of a revised traffic plan to improve vehicular flow inside the terminal and the installation of conspicuous directional signage to improve passenger circulation.
The concessionaire was asked to adjust the loading time at departure bays, as provincial bus operators pointed out in an earlier dialog with the DOTr that the 15-minute loading time was short and insufficient during off-peak hours.
De Leon also cited the need to decongest the public utility jeepney loading and unloading areas and the lack of ventilation to reduce the passengers’ exposure to health risks from vehicular smoke.
The DOTr also advised MWM Terminals to coordinate with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to install bigger reflectorized stickers on buses to easily and effectively distinguish city buses from provincial buses.
The agency said the provincial buses should be tagged with “PITX Only” reflectorized stickers to promptly inform commuters that said buses would terminate routes at the PITX and to avoid overcharging of fares.
It said to familiarize bus drivers and conductors with the PITX dispatching system, MWM Terminals should prepare informational materials explaining the dispatching and scheduling system to drivers and conductors.
The DOTr also recommended the improvement of the existing centralized announcement system to include departure announcements per boarding gate, similar to airports, to easily notify passengers of bus bay activities such as arrival and departure of buses.