The Department of Transportation (DOTr) sectoral heads and officials begins the implementation of the reduced physical distancing with the approval of the Inter-Agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID).
Starting today, September 14, a physical distancing between commuters in all public transportation will be reduced from 1 meter to 0.75 meters. This will take effect alongside the current strict implementation of the “no face mask and no face shield, no entry” policy together with the “no talking and no answering calls” policy as well.
The gradual reduction of physical distancing will be implemented in phases or after every two (2) weeks: from the present 1-meter distance, it will be reduced to 0.75 meters (starting September 14, 2020), 0.5 meters (starting September 28, 2020), and 0.3 meters (starting October 12, 2020).
Image credits: DOTr
The adjusted capacity of railway lines based on reduced physical distancing inside trains are as follows:
• For the LRT-1: one (1) meter: 155 passengers; 0.75-meter: 204 passengers; 0.5-meter: 255 passengers; and 0.3-meter: 300 passengers.
• For the LRT-2: one (1) meter: 160 passengers; 0.75-meter: 212 passengers; 0.5-meter: 274 passengers; and 0.3-meter: 502 passengers.
• For the MRT-3: one (1)-meter: 153 passengers or a maximum capacity of 13%; 0.75-meter: 204 passengers or a maximum capacity of 17%; 0.5-meter: 255 passengers or a maximum capacity of 22%; and 0.3-meter: 327 passengers or a maximum capacity of 28%.
• For the Philippine National Railways: one (1)-meter: 166 passengers; 0.75-meter: 184 passengers; 0.5-meter: 256 passengers; 0.3-meter: 320 passengers.
PUVs are also expected to accommodate more passengers with the new policy.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Martin Delgra said that with the reduction of physical distancing to 0.75 meters, Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJs) will have increased capacity from one to two passengers or 10-12%. For buses, an additional 1-3 passengers will be accommodated in a 2×2 type of bus, and from the 24-25 current passenger capacity of a 3×2 type of bus, it can now serve up to 36 passengers. Additionally, for UV Express, there will be an additional 1-2 passengers that can be served with the reduced physical distancing protocol.
LTFRB also opened 28 more traditional PUJ routes, yielding a total of 1,159 authorized units plying in Metro Manila as of today.
Source: Department of Transportation
