“Eventually everyone will get tired of riding the dilapidated jeepneys that are hazards on the road.

The Department of Transportation (DoTr) and the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory (LTFRB) yesterday rolled out more than 200 modern public utility jeepney (PUJ) units to operators yesterday in Manila.

The awarding of units by the DoTr and LTFRB was accomplished through the “Dispatch of Modern Public Transport Vehicles” event at the Quirino Grandstand in Ermita, Manila.

Earlier, the LTFRB had awarded provisional authority to two jeepney transport groups in Taguig City and Pateros to operate 142 units of modern jeepneys compliant with the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

The units are spacious with high headroom and engines that are either Euro 4 emission-compliant or are purely electrical running off solar powers on the roof, LTFRB-NCR Director Zona Russet Tamayo said.

The new jeepneys have air-conditioning, closed-circuit television cameras, GPS navigation systems, an automatic fare collection system, speed limiters, dashboard cameras and Wi-Fi.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade explained that the modern jeepney units are also compliant with regulations set by the Bureau of Standards.

They have side doors instead of rear doors and a higher ceiling that allows passengers to stand on the aisles, translating to higher carrying capacity, added the DoTr chief.

LTFRB said the Class 1, 2 and 3 jeepneys are already available for dispatch.

“It is time for the public to have not only safe but comfortable and convenient public transport. If you were to choose where do you want to ride: old and dilapidated jeepneys that belch black smoke or modern jeepneys wherein you will be able to seat comfortably and you are assured that you will reach your destinations safely and not contributing to pollution?” Tugade said.

He added there are financing schemes available to operators and drivers to help them pay for the cost of the modern jeepneys.

DoTr Undersecretary Tomas Orbos noted that there is no problem with financing with a “5-6-7-80,000 formula, which means easy downpayment, very low interest rates, payability in seven years and P80,000 in government subsidy.”

“Eventually everyone will get tired of riding the dilapidated jeepneys that are hazards on the road, because we all know we deserve better and there are better options out there. The government would not neglect them,” Orbos said.

The PUVMP was first launched in Tacloban City, Leyte, in January where it initially deployed 45 solar-powered jeepneys.

Last month, 15 out of 35 modern PUJ units of the Senate Employees Transport Service Cooperative were rolled out and started to ply the route of StarCity/CCP to PICC, GSIS/Senate to MoA to PITX and back.

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