DoTr firm, deadline stays

By 2020, they will get a notice. If they still refuse to modernize, the government will open the franchises to other operators.

The government is determined to have modern public transportation by 2022, and the deadline set that year for operators to shift to authorized units will not be extended, Department of Transportation (DoTr) Undersecretary Mark de Leon said.

Certain senators have called for a review of the program citing the difficulty experienced by operators on meeting the high cost of each new unit.

De Leon, however, said the DoTr will revoke the franchises of operators who refuse to comply with the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) until the 2020 deadline.

“By 2020, they will get a notice. If they still refuse to modernize, the government will open the franchises to other operators,” De Leon said in a radio interview.

“Let’s stick to the deadline and if they can’t comply, they know what will happen,” he added.

Under the PUVMP, old jeepneys will be phased out and replaced with vehicles that use Euro 4 standard fuel and can run on renewable energy. Each of the unit costs from P1 million to P2.2 million but the government, under the program, will provide a subsidy of P80,000 to each operator buying the new vehicles.

De Leon added the DoTr will require operators running the same route to have a consolidated franchise to do away with competition for passengers.

“Through such a scheme, we can start a program in which drivers are paid regular wages. The current boundary system in which drivers remit a fixed amount to operators daily result to cutthroat competition on the roads,” he said.

De Leon said the PUVMP will ease the public’s access to an economical ride.

When asked about concerns on the cost a PUV unit, De Leon said this can be addressed but it will not be a factor for the modernization plan to be stalled.

He noted that operators can also have discounts on the purchase of vehicles if they belong to a cooperative.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board chairman Martin Delgra III opined the strong public support for the PUVMP is a compelling reason for the program to succeed.

“For so long as there is public support, strong popular support, modernization will continue. We’re getting data from all across the country that there is very strong support for it,” Delgra said.

On Monday, PUV drivers and operators, mostly of jeepneys, held a transport holiday across the country to protest the phase-out of jeepneys and other medium-sized PUV by 2020 with the administration’s PUVMP.

Groups that joined the transport strike included the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide and Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations.