MMDA urged to cancel window hours for provincial buses amid commuter complaints

Commuters and netizens urged the MMDA to cancel the 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. window hours for provincial buses, citing inconvenience for workers traveling to Metro Manila.

MMDA Chairman Romando Artes accused some bus operators of spreading disinformation to blame the agency for the inconvenience.

Various bus operators announced they would suspend trips due to the new window hours.

Artes clarified that provincial buses are prohibited from entering Metro Manila outside of the window hours and must stop at terminals in Bocaue, Bulacan, or Parañaque City.

He explained that some bus operators have been telling passengers to wait until 10 p.m. instead of referring them to terminals allowed to operate outside the window hours.

Senatorial candidate Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar urged the LTFRB and MMDA to meet with bus operators to discuss a solution to the window hours scheme.

Eleazar stated that the confusion over the window hours is costly for hundreds of commuters.

The LTFRB clarified that the window hour scheme specifically refers to the use of private terminals on EDSA, not a general restriction on operating hours.

Provincial buses are still permitted to operate beyond the window hours but must drop off passengers at designated terminal exchanges like PITX or NLET.