New PUV models to ply Digos City-bansalan route

DAVAO CITY—THE government’s “Public Utility Vehicle Modernization” (PUVM) program would test its new models of passenger vehicles from Digos City to the western boundary town of Bansalan.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) XI launched last week eight of 15 Class-3 Modernized UV Express to ply the Digos City, the capital of Davao del Sur and Bansalan, the boundary town to North Cotabato in its west.

The route would pass through Barangay Kapatagan, formerly classified as a protected area and currently a resort and vegetable-growing area. The new vehicles are operated by the Kapatagan Transport Cooperative (Katco) of Barangay Kapatagan, Digos City.

LTFRB XI Director Nonito Llanos said the new passenger units would start at Aplaya, Digos City through Kapatagan and to Poblacion Bansalan, covering 17 kilometers.

The new route was included in the Local Public Transport Route (LPTR) plan of the provincial Government and it was approved in a Sangguniang Panglungsod Ordinance 21-105 on October 4, 2021. The ordinance was based on the LTFRB Memorandum Circular (MC) 2022-019, which opened for application to the Katco cooperative to ply the route. The application was approved on April 25, 2022.

The Katco acquired the new passenger vehicles through a subsidy from the LTFRB program and assisted financially by the Development Bank of the Philippines and Land Bank of the Philippines.

The PUVM program assured that the new vehicles would provide comfortable and reliable ride aside from its being environmentfriendly transportation and a long term source of income for the cooperative.