Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board 11 (LTFRB 11) Director Nonito “Dondon” Llanos III bared on Wednesday that an additional four routes with approximately eight units of public utility vehicles (PUVs) were augmented for the Peak Hours Augmentation Bus System (PHABS) in Davao City.
The additional four routes are UM Matina-Maa, UM Matina-Matina Aplaya, Puan-Roxas Avenue, and UM Bolton-Indangan in anticipation of the increase in commuters during the yearend season.
“Originally, we have only 10 routes with approximately 25 buses for PHABS but with the consultation with the city government of Davao through the City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) atoang gidungagan ug another four routes ang PHABS with an additional approximately eight units of PUVs for these routes,” Llanos said during Wednesdays at Habi at Kape at Ayala Malls Abreeza.
These additional PUVs will operate during peak hours, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Llanos said this developed after the LTFRB 11, CTTMO, and the city government of Davao revisited the PHABS of the city and considered the volume of people who need public utility vehicles.
“It (additional units) will add to the traffic congestion because we will add buses in Davao City but then it will also solve sa kakulangon sa atong public utility jeepneys. It is sad to note that after the pandemic there were a lot of PUVs, especially jeepneys and Philcabs, stop operating and that is why nahimugso ang PHABS,” he said.
Llanos said that based on their assessment in revisiting PHABS, it is still an ideal tool for addressing the efficiency of mass transportation in Davao City.
“It is an effective tool in helping our riding public due to the fact that there are a lot of public utility jeepneys and Philcabs that are no longer operating in Davao and this is a way to alleviate the lack of numbers of PUVs in the city,” he said.
PHABS was initially established from the period of December 2022 to January 2023 as part of the initiative to provide an additional mode of transportation, especially during the holiday season.
The CTTMO has established PHABS in partnership with bus companies, to easily dispatch buses once there is a reported stranding of passengers on the streets.
