Close to 26,000 units of taxis and taxis and transport network vehicle services (TNVS) were expected to be back on the streets today as Metro Manila went into its first day of General Community Quarantine (GCQ).
On Facebook, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said that 7,315 taxis and 18,631 TNVS units were granted permission to operate under Memorandum Circular (MC) 2020-018 or the “Guidelines for the Operations of Taxis and Transport Network Vehicle Services (TNVS).”
The transportation department told operators and drivers to adhere to the health protocols of the memorandum.
The guidelines include the wearing of face masks and gloves at all times, disinfection of the units before and after every trip or every two hours, the use of only non-permeable and transparent materials, and the strict observance of the minimum passenger load capacity as directed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
No fare increase will be implemented by the taxis and TNVS operators, LTFRB said.
Passengers are also required to wear face masks and to pay using cashless payment methods.
Some point-to-point (P2P) buses also resumed operations.
Routes that reopened cover the following destination points: Makati, Katipunan, Eastwood, Taguig, Ortigas, Alabang, Antipolo, Cainta, Fairview, Bacoor, Sangley Point and Dasmarinas in Cavite, and Sta. Maria and Malolos in Bulacan.
Bus operators were told to keep a logbook or a “daily passenger manifest” for easy contact tracing. (Jojo Mangahis)