CALAMBA CITY, Laguna (PIA) – The Land
Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board
(LTFRB) Region IV-A gave
its assurance to the public that there will be ‘no
phaseout’ of jeepneys in
the government’s Public
Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Interviewed at
the Sulong Calabarzon
program of the Philippine Information Agency,
LTFRB Region IV-A Regional Director Renwick
Rutaquio emphasized that
the program does not seek
to phase out traditional
jeepneys but instead, replace units that are no longer roadworthy and emissions compliant.
“Actually, there is
no phaseout. We are trying to modernize, but we
are not phasing out the
units. Those old vehicles
or jeepneys that are no
longer permissible due to
their age and no longer
suitable because they are
smoky and deteriorated
will be replaced with new
units,” Rutaquio said.
According to LTFRB, modern jeepneys
should be equipped with
at least Euro-4 emission
compliant engine, complete with safety features
such as dash cams, speed
limiters, CCTV cameras,
automatic fare collection
system, and must adhere
to the Philippine National Standards (PNS) approved by the Bureau of
Philippine Standards.
This initiative
eyes to streamline and
organize the agonizing
public road transportation
system in the country and
ensure a secure and comfortable travel experience
not only for the commuters
and drivers, but also benefitting the environment.
He added:
“That’s why we’re modernizing so that we can fix
these no longer suitable
vehicles that are still running until now, we are not
doing a phaseout, we’re
just changing the unit”.
In response to
the appeal and proposal
of few local manufacturers
of jeepneys in the country
to prioritize locally-made
jeepneys for the PUVMP,
Rutaquio explained that it
is acceptable as long as
the units are PNS-compliant.
“I personally
have nothing to say, if we
have locally-made, Philippine-made modern jeeps,
as long as they pass our
standards in the Philippine National Standards, if
they meet the criteria and
we can give them credit, I
have nothing to say about
that but we should patronize our own product if we
already have, and if there
are units that successfully
meet the PNS, they are
very welcome”.
Based on the latest report by the Board,
there are 591 routes for
Public Utility Jeepneys
(PUJ) and 29 routes for
UV Express to be consolidated throughout the
country. However, since
the second week of January 2024, only 425 PUJ
routes and 24 UV Express
routes have been consolidated.
Rutaquio assured the commuting public that transportation situation in the Calabarzon
region will not pose problems in February 2024 as
79 percent of jeepneys
and 82 percent of UV Express were already consolidated and could address the transportation
needs of the passengers
in the region.
He then reminded the drivers and operators yet to be consolidated that the consolidation
deadline would not be further extended to prevent
delays that might affect
the majority of PUV operators, banks, financial institutions and the public.
Although there is
no extension, Rutaquio assured affected drivers and
operators that the government is ready to provide
assistance through the
Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE) to
secure their livelihood.
“They can be assisted by the government
through the use of the livelihood packages from the
Department of Labor and
Employment (DOLE). We
can also help by privatizing their old units that are
no longer usable. They
can apply for private plates
so that they can still use
them. The best approach
is to repurpose their vehicles for private use.”
(CO/PIA-4A)
