In an order by DoTC Secretary Leandro Mendoza dated Jan. 13, 2006, the Land Transportation Fare Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had been ordered to refrain from implementing Memorandum Circular 2005-042 which calls for the phase out of 15-year-old bus units, pending the review of the said ruling.

The order was made after the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) and Southern Luzon Bus Operators Association (SOLUBOA) filed a position paper last Jan. 13, appealing the circular which requires grantees of certificates of public convenience (CPC) to operate public utility bus service, air-conditioned or regular, provincial or Metro Manila routes, to submit a certification of year model of all their authorized units until Jan. 16. Failure to comply will render affected units to be considered phased out.

PBOAP president Alejandro Yague Jr. however lauded DoTC for the suspension order.

The phase-out of 15-year-old bus units reckoned from the date of manufacture is aimed to modernize public transportation and to eliminate defective buses as well as to comply to the requisites of the Clean Air Act, Bautista said.

The LTFRB has set the standard number of 15 years for buses to ply the roads to assure road worthiness of these vehicles.

Traffic enforcers reportedly have traced the cause of most vehicular accidents either to engine trouble or failing breaks of unconditioned vehicles.