Rush-hour delays tied to dispatch lapses

By Rjay Zuriaga Castor

Long queues during rush hours are being linked to poor dispatching operations and insufficient deployment of units by transport cooperatives, according to the city’s Traffic and Transportation Management Office.

TTMO head Uldarico Garbanzos said the office has received complaints about the growing number of passengers waiting at designated loading and unloading areas across Iloilo City during morning and afternoon peak hours.

“We reiterate and return it to the dispatching operation of transport cooperatives,” Garbanzos said on Feb. 16, noting that cooperatives may increase the number of units deployed during peak hours to address the surge in commuters.

He said some cooperatives also struggle to regulate their traditional jeepneys, particularly in the late afternoon.

Garbanzos said traditional units should continue operating and comply with dispatch schedules instead of stopping early – especially around 5 p.m. – to ensure commuters have access to safe, comfortable, and efficient transportation.

The TTMO also clarified that citation tickets will be issued to drivers of public utility vehicles caught violating Regulation Ordinance No. 2008-393, which prohibits carrying passengers “in excess of the registered seating capacity.”

Section 1 of the ordinance imposes a penalty of PHP 300 for the violation but does not specify whether liability falls on the driver, the passenger assistance officer, or the operating entity, such as a cooperative or corporation.

“We are seeing it that way since the control of the door is in the possession of the driver, as it is the driver who opens and closes it,” Garbanzos said.

He said the TTMO’s monitoring and enforcement clearing teams will lead an intensified crackdown against overloading to improve compliance and passenger safety.

Garbanzos said some personnel will conduct covert operations to prevent drivers from alerting others ahead of inspections.

He added that a monitoring scheme has been designed in which authorities may coordinate to intercept vehicles in areas such as Jaro or La Paz if a violation is initially observed in City Proper to ensure effective enforcement.