Concepcion asks LTFRB to rush approval of transport routes

MARIVELES, Bataan – Mayor Ace Jello  C. Concepcion has asked the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to speed up  the processing of the applications  of three (3) businessmen seeking franchise routes for jeepneys and mini-buses plying the Authority of Freeport Area of Bataan (AFAB) to  Balanga City route.

Concepcion had received numerous requests, mostly from night shift factory workers, traders and locators to facilitate the granting of transport franchise to local operators for their welfare and convenience after working stints and business dealings.

He said the expected influx of workers to AFAB with its expansion thrust and the on-going site development projects of the San Miguel Corporation (SMC) Special Economic Zone in the coastal village of Bian here would definitely create public transport shortage in the province’s first export processing zone.

Many construction and factory workers particularly those who  are residing at the outskirts  of their working places like in the upland village of Cabcaben and Batangas 2 in Mariveles, Limay, Orion, Pilar and Balanga City have  been affected by the critical transport problem, Concepcion said.

According to Concepcion, Bataan Governor Albert Raymond S. Garcia had observed the unfavorable state of night shift workers waiting for transport services to bring them home in dimly lit waiting sheds during several occasions after meetings with the local barangay officials, locators and other sectors.

He added that even the small traders including vegetable, fruit and fish vendors have suffered hardship while bringing their goods to the markets due to the transport problem.