Transport group slams terminal fee hike in SM malls

PUBLIC transport to and from SM malls in Metro Manila, Bulacan and Southern Tagalog ground to a halt Thursday afternoon as operators and drivers refused to ferry passengers to protest the 300 percent increase in terminal fees and the impending implementation of additional dispatch fees in transport terminals in the said mall chain.

More than a thousand public utility vehicles that included passenger jeeps, shuttle services and UV Express vans stopped operating as drivers and operators joined the protest.

Transport group, Manibela, led the protest directed against Parks Solutions, Inc. (PSI), which runs the transport terminals in SM malls.

PSI is said to impose the levying of additional fees in 2023.

Manibela chairman Mar Valbuena told The Manila Times they are protesting the additional fees which they call “unjust, untimely, oppressive and inhumane as prices of oil, commodities and vehicle parts continue to soar.”

Valbuena also called on authorities to intervene and investigate PSI for allegedly operating without proper government accreditation to operate a transport terminal.

He claims that PSI holds business permits for garage and parking areas and has no license to operate as transport terminals.

Valbuena further said prior to their protest, they received threats from people supposedly connected with PSI.

He said messages warned members of the transport groups not to join the protest or face a ban from using the SM terminals.

The Times tried to reach the PSI for a comment, but calls were not returned until the deadline time.

PSI is part of the Oroza Group of Companies, a diversified enterprise involved in the distribution of retail and consumer goods, industrial equipment leasing, as well as real estate and property development.