THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is activating 50 pre-pandemic routes for public utility vehicles (PUVs) all over Metro Manila.

LTFRB Board Member lawyer Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said they will approve within the week the resumption of operation of at least 50 more pre-pandemic routes.

“We continue to study and evaluate other routes that have not yet been opened,” Paras-Leynes said during the Laging Handa Public Briefing on Wednesday.

Last month, the LTFRB approved the resumption of operation of 133 prepandemic routes for PUVs in the National Capital Region in time for the opening of classes on August 22.

At least 33 pre-pandemic non-EDSA city bus routes, 68 pre-pandemic routes for traditional and modernized jeepneys, and 32 UV Express routes were opened.

The board said the opening of PUV routes will “provide adequate, reliable, efficient, accessible and convenient public land transportation.”

The LTFRB further said that additional bus routes may be opened as the Route Rationalization Study in the Metro Manila Urban Transportation Integration Study Update and Capacity Enhancement Project (Mucep) area progresses.

At the same time, Paras-Leynes emphasized that the recent fare increase approved by the LTFRB is not a “band-aid solution” but a step into resolving the country’s transportation problem and a way to help the return of public utility service to a “seemingly normal operation.”

“I can’t say that the fare increase we issued is a band-aid solution because it is permanent,” the LTFRB board member said. “Especially all schools will open by November for full face-to-face classes and other sectors.”