BRT system to affect 3,000 Cebu jeepney drivers, operators

CEBU CITY — At least 3,000 jeepney drivers and operators stand to lose their livelihood when the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is implemented by 2018, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) said.

About 2,614 jeepney drivers, 912 operators, 1,191 franchises and 22 routes are expected to be adversely hit with the introduction of the BRT, which will see high-quality buses operating on a dedi- cated bus lane.

Cebu-BRT Office head, lawyer Rafael Yap, however, said the government will not take the affected drivers and operators for granted.

In fact, he said, the profiling of about 3,000 jeepney operators and drivers affected by the BRT system will start Monday next week.

The Base-Line Survey, which will be facilitated by LTFRB-7, will have affected drivers and operators filling out personal data forms, and avail of training and employment assistance programs through the intervention of the Techni- cal Education Skills Development Authority (TESDA).

“We want to address all the concerns of the public utility jeepney (PUJ) industry, drivers, operators and their family members. We want to know these people individually not as sectors or groups but on an individual basis so we can hear the voices of the minority," said Yap.

He added that enforcers and personnel of the City Integrated Traffic Operations Management (CITOM) and LTFRB-7 will distribute flyers on the Base-Line Survey for drivers’ guidelines.

Yap said the undertaking is an offshoot of the memorandum of agreement (MOA) entered into recently by the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC), (LTFRB-7), and the Cebu City government.

Based on the MOA, the DOTC, as implementing agency, will provide funds for employment assistance and skills training amounting to nearly R14 million.

For its part, LTFRB-7 is required to submit the statistical or analysis report together with the survey form to the national office by March 31.