BY MYLA IGLESIAS and NOEL TALACAY
THE Department of Transportation (DOTr) will open additional bus routes starting today to address public transport woes of commuters who have started reporting back to work when Metro Manila transitioned to general community quarantine (GCQ) last Monday.
Presidential spokesman Harry Roque said President Duterte has ordered the DOTr and the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to help commuters get to their destinations without having to worry about getting public rides.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said three additional city bus routes will open on Friday (June 5) and another three by Monday.
The Monumento to Balagtas, Bulacan, EDSA to Montalban to Rizal, and NAIA Loop routes will be opened today.
On Monday, the three bus routes to be launched will be from Monumento to the Valenzuela Gateway Complex (VGC), Gilmore to Taytay, and Monumento to San Jose Del Monte, Bulacan.
The LTFRB are set to meet with concerned bus operators today to determine the number of units that will be deployed.
DOTr Undersecretary for Railways TJ Batan said that as of Thursday, all 34 elevators and 44 out of 46 escalators of in Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT -3) stations are now operational.
“The DOTr and the MRT-3 remain firm on our promise to bring back the original state of the rail line’s services. Though the COVID-19 pandemic suspended our revenue operations, we took measures in coordination with the IATF to ensure that the rehabilitation and maintenance of MRT-3 continued,” Batan said.
The Light Rail Manila Corp. has deployed new thermal cameras at select high-traffic Light Rail Transit line 1 (LRT-1) stations for use in entry screening. LRT-1 resumed its operations last 1 June after receiving the green light from the government under the GCQ guidelines.
The forward-looking infrared (FLIR) set-up consists of a thermal camera attached to a tripod and connected to a monitor. The camera detects the infrared energy invisible to the human eye that people and objects emit. An automatic alarm is triggered with red color notification if temperature is higher than the settings. The FLIR thermal scanning system is currently used in hospitals, establishments, and schools in Taiwan — one of the countries recognized for their most effective responses to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is also the same system deployed at Taipei Metro.
The thermal screening system will be used in six LRT-1 stations: Monumento (Northbound), Roosevelt, Doroteo Jose, Gil Puyat (Southbound), Edsa (Southbound), and Baclaran. The ones for Baclaran and EDSA have already been deployed, while the rest will be installed in the succeeding week. Other LRT-1 stations will continue to use non-contact thermometers for the temperature screening. Based on LRMC’s previously released guidelines, passengers with temperature greater than 37.6Ëš C will not be allowed to enter the station.
Roque said the DOTr has also issued a new set of protocols for the aviation sector which include: the strict wearing of facemask, placing handwashing, foot baths and sanitizing stations; observance of physical and social distancing, getting of temperature, placement of mandatory on-site signages, provision of online information materials about health, and announcements of passenger boarding and in flight protocols.
The guidelines also state that there should be no queuing in washrooms during flights; cabin crews should ensure that passengers with baggages observe social distancing; cabin crews should provide alcohol and wipes to passengers; and provide simplified meal and water service per person.
Only families that are travelling together may be allowed to be seated together.
Passengers are also required to fill up and submit health declaration and passenger locator forms before they disembark while social distancing should also be observed when disembarking from the plane and in collecting their baggage.
MODIFIED NUMBER CODING SCHEME
Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) general manager Jojo Garcia yesterday said a modified number coding scheme will be implemented in Metro Manila starting Monday.
The new traffic scheme has been approved by the Metro Manila Council (MMC).
Based on MMDA Regulation 2020-001 series of 2020, private vehicles with two or more passengers, including the driver, shall be exempted from the coding scheme. Owner-driven or self-driven private motor vehicles of doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel are likewise exempted.
Vehicles driven by those who are included in the Authorized Persons Outside Residence (APOR) list, as specified by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-EID), are also exempted.
Operators of Transport Network Vehicle Service (TNVS) can also operate everyday as long as they put a signage to make them easily recognizable as a TNVS.
The number coding scheme was suspended when Metro Manila was placed under enhanced community quarantine. — With Jocelyn Montemayor
