Tourist transport and utility vehicle (UV) express services will no longer be allowed to use staging areas, parking spaces, and public streets in the city effective March 17.
Mayor Benjamin Magalong issued Executive Order 50 revoking all administrative orders and similar issuances that allow these vehicles to use temporary staging and parking areas and public streets being administered and regulated by the city and for said services to permanently vacate said premises.
The service companies were given 15 days from the effectivity of the mayor’s order dated March 3.
In his order, the mayor said reports had reached his office that colorum vans or services are clandestinely allowed to load and unload in temporary staging areas, pick-up, and drop points allotted to the tourist transport and UV express services in the city in exchange for paying regulatory fees.
“This kind of scheme endangers the safety and escalates the risks for the riding public and it adds to the difficulty of ascertaining whether the vehicles servicing the public are colorum or not,” the mayor said.
He said the privileges given to said services to use the spaces are just temporary and given that they are being abused now need to be revoked.
The mayor added that as holders of franchise, these services should have their own off-street garage, terminals, and hop-on hop-off points in compliance with the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines of the Department of Transportation and Communication, Memorandum Circular 2017-30 or the Guidelines for Off-Street Terminal Operations of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board and Memorandum Circular 2017-027 or the implementing guidelines for garages.
He said there is a need to weed out colorum vehicles which continue to proliferate in the city despite the passage of Ordinance 55 s. 2017 or the Anti-Colorum Ordinance.
The mayor tasked the City Engineering Office and the Baguio City Police Office to enforce the order. – Aileen P. Refuerzo
April 20, 2024
