MANILA, Philippines - Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chair Winston Ginez defended yesterday the requirement imposed by the agency for commuters to buy Metro Rail Transit (MRT) tickets if they want to avail themselves of the free shuttle service by the Makati City government.
After receiving criticism that the requirement would defeat the intent of Makati to shorten the long queues at the MRT North Avenue station, Ginez said they just wanted to make sure only MRT passengers would avail of the shuttle service.
“There are ambulant vendors outside the (MRT) station and passengers would no longer need to go up to buy the tickets,†he said.
According to Ginez, this was one of the conditions imposed by the board on Makati in its application for a special permit.
“We just want to be assured that only legitimate MRT passengers will avail of the shuttle service,†Ginez said.
He cited that if they did not impose the condition, the passengers of buses would just shift to the city government’s free rides and this would defeat the purpose of easing the long queues at the MRT station.
Ginez said they would still study the appeal of the Makati City government.