Barney Auto Lines is a provincial bus company based in Atimonan, Quezon. Founded in September 1978, it is currently under the ownership of spouses Barney and Rosela Chito, and operates under a corporate model with the name Barney Auto Lines Group of Companies (BALGCO) Transport, Inc. Barney Chito's brother is Edwin Chito, operator of a separate but related bus company, P&O Transport Corporation. Barney Auto Lines traditionally operated in the Guinayangan Quezon-Sampaloc route, as one of the first companies to operate between the rural coastal town and the national capital. Later, the company was granted the San Andres Quezon-Alabang route, following the footsteps of its neighbor company Superlines who already had a strong presence in Bondoc Peninsula at that time. Its last expansion route took it outside its home province into Sta. Elena, Camarines Norte. While a small town, Sta. Elena nevertheless was a place of high potential as a developing community, and with a lack of tr...

  Photo By: Ron Glenn Aquin/PBPA genesis (noun) - beginning (from Ancient Greek) Genesis Transport Services, Inc. is a bus company operating in Northern and Central Luzon, founded in 1991. Its current President and CEO is Riza Angara Moises, niece of former senator Edgardo Angara. As one of the largest bus companies in the Central Luzon, Genesis boasts a large network of routes where its name have become a household term for safe, efficient, and comfortable travel. The company's genesis was in December of 1991, where Genesis, participating in the government's Bus Installment Purchase Program, bought three midibuses to shuttle passengers between the Paskuhan Village in San Fernando, Pampanga and SM City North EDSA in Quezon City. Shortly after, in 1992, Genesis acquired franchises to operate regularly at the Mariveles-Pasay and Balanga-Pasay routes. Its network expanded to Mariveles-Dimasalang (Manila) and Baler-Pasay in 1993, becoming the first bus company to attempt (and succe...

  Juaymah Maureen Transport was a bus company founded in the early to mid 90's in Las Piñas City by Elenita C. Mababangloob, the sole proprietor. The business name, as was common that time, was a composite of her two daughters' names. The company's main route was the Alabang-Lawton route, an important line that connects the capital to the southern business district and transport hub. Later on, Juaymah Maureen acquired a terminal in General Mariano Alvarez (GMA), a resettlement town in eastern Cavite. No records were available yet to show when exactly JMT started operations in GMA, but by 2003 it held the legal privilege to the route with two franchises in the GMA-Lawton via Carmona line, totaling 15 units. Complementing those lines were two franchises for the Alabang-Lawton route, with 14 units. These franchises were operated using Hino RF and RK3H air-conditioned buses. As no other company lasted in the GMA route at the turn of the century, JMT enjoyed success at the line,...

Long before or during the Hey Days of our known local bus builder, there's a bus assembler, importer, distributor and manufacturer of MAN Diesel Buses and Trucks named Delta Motor Sales, Corp. they produced local replicas of MAN's SR240 and SR280 coaches and also introduced MAN Articulated City Bus carrying 170 passengers on its demonstration. Delta Motor has several offices and production facilities in Makati, Paranaque, and Quezon city, some are still standing today, especially the building at the corner of West Avenue and Quezon Avenue, the Delta Motors Building, but there is one of Delta Motor's former facilities that still standing and somewhat still stood to its purpose being a maintenance facility until today, eventually after few years, their Mirasol service facility is acquired as a motorpool and service facility of Bicol Isarog TSI Group bus units and also as the group's administrative headquarters, once a facility that specializes in Toyota cars and MAN buses...

PVP Liner, named after its founder Panfilo V. Pajarillo, was a city bus company based in Sta. Ana, Manila, established in 1984 as a sole proprietorship. In 1990, the business was transferred to a family corporation, P.V. Pajarillo Liner, Inc., a year before Panfilo's death in 1991. The bus company enjoyed loyalty from the passengers along its historical routes: Quiapo-Guadalupe via JP Rizal; FTI-Navotas via EDSA; and Asturias-Ayala. Its buses have been dubbed the "Morning Star" and then later on the "Rising Star" (upon the operation of their first air-conditioned units), possibly in reference to the "starry" livery its units have carried, which mainly consist of Hino buses. Despite the popularity of their buses, PVP Liner was not immune to decline of business, which was brought upon by changing political and economic climates at the turn of the century. The Quiapo-Guadalupe line fell into obscurity as the company failed to confirm authorized units; the...

  Photo By: Cristian Pineda/PBPA Erjohn & Almark Transit Corporation is a provincial bus company established in the 90's by Cielito Santiaguel of Las Piñas City. The company name is a composite of Mr. Santiaguel's children's names. In its history of operation, Erjohn and Almark is involved in numerous company acquisitions and divestment, gaining and losing routes and units along the way. The company's first route (possibly as a sole proprietorship under Mr. Santiaguel's name) was the BF Almanza - Lawton - Sta. Cruz route, alongside a relative's company, TAS Trans. At the time, it operated Isuzu city buses in green and yellow livery, with body numbers starting with 20**. At the turn of the century, Erjohn & Almark entered the Cavite sector, operating Nissan Diesel buses now numbered in the 80** series. Its first route at the provincial sector is possibly Silang-Divisoria via Lawton, in direct competition with J.S. Vergara Lines, Regal Starliner and San Ag...

Dagupan Bus Company, Inc. is a provincial bus company operating along the northern and central regions of Luzon. In the course of history of the company, it has always been operated under the supervision of, and integrated with, different companies. To understand Dagupan Bus Company's beginnings, we have to look at the background of Villa Rey Transit, Inc., who sold its franchises to Dagupan's parent, Saulog Transit. Villa Rey Transit, Inc. was a Manila-based company which started as a sole proprietorship under the name of Dr. Jose M. Villarama. Before Dr. Villarama's stellar political career as vice-governor, and then governor of Bulacan in the 1960's, he was a well established businessman in the transportation industry, and probably started operation in the early post-war years. His areas of operation included Bulacan (his home province), Tarlac, and Pangasinan. His fleet of TPU buses and autotrucks would grow so large that people regarded Villa Rey Transit as Pantran...

Photo By: Ron Camia/PBPA Saulog Transit, Inc. is a bus company based in Cavite province. The company was named after the large Saulog clan, who, for generations, managed the company. Founded by Alejandro Saulog in 1946 as an incorporated company and operated and managed by his son Eliseo, it soon became a common name among passengers seeking travel from the province to nearby Rizal (now parts of NCR), Manila, and Zambales at the post-war period, a reputation which it holds to the present day. As a public utility operator, Saulog Transit plied the Naic-Manila, Cavite City-Manila, and Cavite City-Olongapo Zambales route since the late 40's and early 50's, in stiff competition with Luzon Bus Line (not to be confused with Luzon Bus Inc. of Bulacan) at the Naic route (before it closed in 1962), Victory Liner at the Olongapo route, and Saint Raphael Transit, owned by Jose Samala, in the Cavite City-Manila route. Samala was Saulog's archrival in the 1950's, and the two opera...

Southern Philippines Tribal Transport Multi-purpose Cooperative or SPTTMC, started as a local tribal service in 2016 for Lumad Tribe and Indigenous People of Panay Island and Mindanao, eventually they see some opportunity by applying the provision on Republic Act 8371 under Chapter 4, Section 13, “the right to pursue economic, social and cultural development”, under this provision they ventured and invested for their own independent economic activities thru transportation and several livelihood programs, part of this program is to ensure government support and acknowledge their independent economic activities, they filed a lot of cases, some are still on going and some are already closed or dropped. But because of unclear Guidelines of RA 8371, some government agency specially the Transportation Agencies, LTFRB and LTO didn’t acknowledged the existence and the operation of SPTTMC, resulting in apprehension and stopping the buses on mid trip, until today some of the buses are still on L...

Photo By: Ron Camia Pamana Transport Services, Inc. is a bus company serving the Valenzuela-Baclaran corridor. Based in Barangay Malanday, the company was founded on April 5, 2000, by Angel C. Secerio, who used part of his money inherited by his parents to establish a business with aims to generate jobs, hence the name "Pamana". Pamana's two franchises were granted in 2003, one after another; one franchise authorized them to ply the Baclaran-Malanday via Ayala route with 16 units, while another authorized the Baclaran-Malanday via McArthur EDSA route with 6 units. The units Pamana operated during this period were non-aircondtioned Isuzu FTR buses supplied by Almazora, later complemented by fleets of Nissan Diesel Metrostar and Exfoh supplied by Santarosa.   Around 2010 (or possibly later), Pamana acquired assets of a competing company: that of Edgardo Mimay, operator of St. Martin of Tours Trailways (formerly known as Filipinas Trailways) based in Bocaue. Aside from...

Photo By: Josh Manguera/PBPA Dela Rosa Transit Corp. is a bus company operating in Metro Manila and Southern Luzon. Founded by spouses Rosauro Sr. and Nora Dela Rosa sometime in the early 90's, it serves as a parent company to two other subsidiaries, Dela Rosa Express and N. Dela Rosa Liner. Available public records show that Dela Rosa Transit was first officially authorized to operate buses sometime in 1993, when its franchise at the Pacita-Novaliches via Malinta Exit was approved by the LTFRB. Its first franchise allows Dela Rosa Transit to run 5 units, and later in the year was granted another franchise for additional 5 units. Its first 10 units consist of Nissan Diesel buses built by Santarosa Motor Works, then already a popular choice among metro bus operators, having been extensively used by operators under the Metrobus umbrella. The years 1996 and 1997 saw the Dela Rosas expanding towards the south. The spouses established N. Dela Rosa Liner, Inc., applying for the GMA-Ayala...

Photo By: Rotsen Oliver Silver Star is a bus company serving the Metro Manila - Eastern Visayas route. Based in San Pedro, Laguna, the company is owned by the influential Mercado family, who possibly may be related to the Rizal family of Calamba. Silver Star's ancestral roots may be traced back to 1968, when spouses Artemio and Josefina Mercado established the 4-unit JAM Transit, Inc., with an authorized route between their hometown of Biñan in Laguna and Plaza Lawton in Manila. Since then, four units become hundreds as they establish more routes and organized more companies: JAM Liner, Laguna Transportation Company, AMA Trans, among a few. The Mercado family's first decline in business came in 1997, during the Asian financial crisis. In a dire situation, they were forced to let go of many of their assets, most particularly the JAM brand that carried the family initials. Crucial routes in Batangas, Quezon, and Bicol region (thru AMA Trans) were sold to Penta Realty in 2000,...

  Photo By: Josh Hernandez Founded in 2001 with just one bus, Jasper Jean is well-known among Caviteños is the go-to bus for Metro Manila trips. Since 2003, Jasper Jean is granted the franchise Pala-pala Dasmarinas Cavite - Navotas via EDSA route, the longest recognized city bus route before 2018 (59 kilometers, 1 km short of the 60-km city route distance limit). The LTFRB also approved the transfer to their name franchises of the Baclaran-Malanday and Cavite City-Baclaran routes sometime in 2008 or 2009. In 2018, its provincial routes were amended to ply the Dasmarinas-PITX route, and in 2019 it was awarded the Lancaster New City-PITX route after satisfactorily complying with LTFRB bid requirements. Jasper Jean's units are recognizable by the large, bold names at the windshield, its yellow and orange livery, and (especially in its earlier years, before the LTFRB regulated bus advertising) full-body wrap advertising first Cavite bus company to widely deploying advertisement-wrapp...

Bataan Transit's inclusion in the EDSA Carousel route is a surprise to many, but there is a special reason behind it. Photo: Khemachat Dhamrong-rattanaroj 2020      Late last week, Bataan Transit  made a stir in the bus enthusiast community as their brand-new Higer KLQ6129G low-entry city buses hit the streets of Metro Manila. Quite apart from being a fresh face at the EDSA Carousel busway , it was quite a surprise to see a company known for provincial  operations, especially since most provincial buses are still kept in storage, not allowed to traverse their usual routes without LTFRB's approval .     Most provincial bus companies today were either sitting idle in their home bases, being used as company shuttles, or already approved to resume limited operations by the LTFRB. Aside from a handful of provincial operators with obvious city routes (HM Transport and Santrans, for example), most provincial buses are not allowed to operate inside Metro Manil...