Lawmaker Wants Driver, PUV Info Posted

A LAWMAKER wants commuters to have access to information about the driver and the operator of the public-utility vehicle they are riding on, to “enhance their safety and protection.”

Based on House Bill 3767, which was filed by Rep. Lorna Velasco (AMA party list), laminated display cards bearing information about the driver, the operator and the vehicle must be posted conspicuously inside all PUVs. The information should also be “visible and readable to all passengers thereof.”

“The information will certainly empower the passengers and ease the process of reporting abuses and crimes committed against them by erring public-transport operators and/or the latter’s agents,” said Velasco. “It is a lamentable fact that, in some cases, the driver himself/herself is involved in the commission of these crimes. Also, a number of PUVs are being used as instruments to commit unlawful acts on a daily basis.”

According to the bill, the laminated display card shall include the complete name and the contact number of the driver, the driver’s picture, his or her license number and its date of expiration, and the complete name and contact number of the PUV’s operator or owner.
The display card shall also bear the PUV’s plate number, body number (whenever applicable), certificate of public convenience license number, authorized route as reflected in the PUV’s certificate of public convenience, and theLand Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board hotline or contact number.
If the bill is passed into law, its violators will be penalized and fined with “not more than P20,000 for the first offense and not more than P50,000 and suspension of the PUV’s franchise and driver’s license for the second offense.”