CA affirms rule on GPS in buses

The Court of Appeals (CA) has affirmed its decision that allowed the Land Transportation Franchis­ing and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to compel all public utility buses in the country to install Global Posi­tioning System (GPS) to enhance service and road safety.

In a resolution written by As­sociate Justice Rafael Antonio Santos, the CA denied the mo­tion for reconsideration filed by Nagkakaisang Samahan ng mga Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas, formerly the Pro­vincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines.

“After a careful scrutiny of the arguments raised in the instant motion, this Court finds that the same must be denied for lack of merit. The instant motion does not raise new and substantial issues that would warrant the reversal of this Court’s decision dated Feb. 27, 2018,” the CA ruled.

The CA’s February decision af­firmed the ruling handed down by the Quezon City regional trial court (RTC) which declared con­stitutional LTFRB’s Memorandum Circular Nos. 2015-021 and 2015-026 issued on June 26, 2015 and Nov. 16, 2015, respectively.

Earlier, the LTFRB had said the circulars implement the GPS Project that is aimed at promoting road safety and improving land transportation services. It said the project is also aimed at lessening road accidents by monitoring the speed of PUBs through a GPS device.

It also said the GPS Project will improve the services of PUBs be­cause bus operators can now track the routes of their buses, monitor the location and flow of buses, and inform the passengers of the waiting time at the stations.

Under the provisions of the circulars, all bus operators are required to install and register GPS devices on their units based on the following schedule:

1. For provincial buses entering Metro Manila: on or before April 30, 2016
2. For Metro Manila buses: May 1 to Aug. 30, 2016
3. For inter-regional buses not entering Metro Manila: Sept. 1 to Dec. 31, 2016
4. For intra-regional buses: Jan. 1 to April 30, 2017

The circulars prohibit bus op­erators from allowing their units to ply their routes if they know or have a reasonable belief that the GPS device is not functioning or defective.

They also mandate that non-in­stallation of the GPS device will be penalized R5,000 per unit and an additional of R1,000 per unit per month after a grace period of 30 days is granted counting from the end of the compliance period.

-REY G. PANALIGAN