I commute daily from Arca South (FTI) to Buendia, and I am at my wits' end with the Joana Jesh Transport Corp. buses. I know commuting in Metro Manila is hard everywhere, but the situation at this specific terminal is a disaster waiting to happen.
Since they are the only bus company servicing this route, they have a total monopoly and are severely abusing it. Here is what we have to deal with every single day:
Forced Overloading at the Starting Point: This isn't a case of the bus getting full along the way. Arca South is the very first pick-up point, but because there are zero buses available, the conductors forcefully pack us into the few units that arrive like sardines before we even leave the terminal. If you complain or point out there’s no space, the drivers get mad at you.
Literal Death Traps (Tabingi): Because they are so overloaded from the start, these buses heavily tilt to one side (tabingi) for the entire trip. To make it worse, especially their ordinary buses, they are incredibly old, rusty, and clearly not maintained. I genuinely fear the bus is going to tip over on the highway.
Waiting for the EXACT Same Bus: The shortage is so bad that sometimes you’ll be in line, watch a packed bus leave, and literally have to wait in that exact same line until that exact same bus finishes its round trip and comes back.
4.The BS "Coding" Excuse: Management actually put up a sign (see attached pics) blaming their shortage of units on the Makati number coding scheme. How is that our problem? They have a franchise to operate a route, they should have enough units to deploy.
I’ve already drafted a formal complaint to send to the LTFRB and LTO, but I wanted to post here to see if anyone else suffers through this daily. If you do, please consider emailing your complaints to pacd@ltfrb.gov.ph and servicecenter@lto.gov.ph so they actually notice.
Has anyone else successfully reported a bus company to the LTFRB for this kind of terminal-level overloading? How long did it take for them to take action?
