Transport official assures sufficient public rides as modernization begins
A TRANSPORTATION agency official assured the riding public on Monday of sufficient transport options in Metro Manila as the government pushes through with its end-January deadline for a modernization program that consequently phases out traditional jeepneys from their routes nationwide.
Speaking at a Palace briefing, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Director Zona Russet Tamayo said that about 97% of the registered public utility jeepneys (PUJ) in Metro Manila for 2023 have already complied with the consolidation requirement under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
On a national scale, more than 70% of transport franchises have already consolidated.
Ms. Tamayo stressed that many of those that have failed to consolidate “belong to short-distance routes which can be covered by long-route jeepneys after the consolidation.”
Citing LTFRB’s route mapping, she said there will be no problems in terms of public transport supply.
“When we map out the routes in NCR, the majority of its main thoroughfares have consolidated or are operating transport in other modes — perhaps buses, UVs, and even jeepneys,” Ms. Tamayo said. “There will be sufficient supply of public transport in the NCR.”
The agency has contingency plans in case of shortage issues, she added.
“We have coordinated with the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority as well as with different local government units in case that there would be a need.”
Ms. Tamayo said the number of jeepneys in Metro Manila seeking franchise over the last years has been on a decline.
Jeepney drivers have been given until Jan. 31 to comply with the consolidation requirement, which pushed transport group Manibela to launch another protest action today, Jan. 16.
The LTFRB said it will assess in January whether routes have attained at least 60% consolidation.
“Those who have failed to consolidate will no longer be allowed to run the routes, except if we see, if we analyze that there is a need,” Ms. Tamayo said. “But so far, by February 1 they will no longer be allowed to ply the routes.”
She said drivers who will be flagged by authorities need to present a copy of their vehicle registration and a copy of their application for consolidation.
The LTFRB said it has yet to issue special permits that would allow jeepneys that have failed to comply with the requirement to service routes where the consolidation rate remains low.
At the weekend, the Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC), an attached agency of the Department of Transportation (DoTr), said public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers and operators who failed to meet the Dec. 31, 2023 consolidation deadline would not be allowed to ply their routes beginning Feb. 1.