LTFRB assures EDSA Carousel buses of payment

The reported delay in paying bus consortiums servicing the EDSA Carousel was blamed on the transition between the Marcos government and its predecessor.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said it is currently transferring old funds to continue providing a budget for the EDSA Carousel.

LTFRB officer-in-charge Riza Marie Paches said the agency is checking on the reported delay in payment and assured the bus companies that they would be paid.

"We received additional funds for EDSA Carousel covering until the end of the year," Patches said.

"So it is normal that I cannot call it a review, but there is a transition for the transfer of used funds to our new source of budget," she added.

The EDSA Carousel implements the government's free rides along the 24-kilometer Epifanio de los Santos Avenue, a program that is ending on 31 December 2022.

Paches explained that if the number of bus units servicing the EDSA Carousel is decreasing, it is mainly because some bus units are malfunctioning and in need of repairs.

She said the LTFRB will coordinate with fleet managers to address the reduced deployment of bus units that has resulted in long passenger queues at stations.

Buses serving the EDSA Carousel had been allowed to collect fares from passengers in the evening as government can no longer sustain providing free rides 24/7.