DAGUPAN CITY -- The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will help Dagupan City to come up with a more enhanced, cohesive and integrated traffic management plan.
This was bared by Transportation Undersecretary Thomas Orbos Thursday afternoon after his meeting with Mayor Belen Fernandez and other senior officials of the city government as well as officials of the transport group Association of United Transport Organizations Provincewide (AUTOpro).
"We are very glad that the city government came to us and asked our help not just to look into the roadworthiness of vehicles but also on how to come up with a traffic management plan that will fit Dagupan City," Orbos said.
Aside from implementing "Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok", the DOTr, along with its attached agencies like the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation and Franchising Board (LTFRB), will also assist the city in route rationalization planning for local transport.
Orbos said that in the past, it was the national government that was doing the route rationalization planning but now, the local government will decide and recommend proper routing of transportation and the number of passenger transportation units that are needed for each route based on the demand, to be approved by the national government.
He said they will also train traffic enforcers not only in Dagupan but also in other areas because DOTr knows that the traffic in Dagupan, like in any other urban areas in the country, also affects nearby LGUs like Calasiao, Binmaley, Mangaldan and even as far as Lingayen and Urdaneta City.
The next step is how to secure funding from the national government for the installation of Closed-Circuit Television cameras and traffic signals that he said, will show that Dagupan is really a bustling metropolis, thus, addressing the problem on traffic is a must.
"I would like to think this is a pilot area but again it has become a pilot area because of the initiative of Mayor Belen who personally came to us at DOTr and asked our help, for which we are very thankful," Orbos said.
Orbos added DOTr officials will arrive in Dagupan the first week of March to lay down the groundwork for this project by having dialogues with the mayor, other city officials, those from the public order and safety office and all other stakeholders to explain to them the project.
Also involved in this project are the PNP Highway Patrol Group, Department of Environment and Natural Resources, local Department of Public Works and Highways and other LGUs.
Orbos said DOTr will also ask the Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to help formulate the traffic management plan that will conform to the needs of Dagupan.
The solution is two-fold -- infrastructure, and education but engineering will come next after they have resolved the problem of congestion, through strategic planning and enforcement.
On vehicle modernization, Orbos said they have just talked with officials of the transport group AUTOPro and assured that they will help them acquire their jeepneys if they consolidate themselves so that they can secure funding from banks.
"We will consider them (AUTOPro) as a pilot cooperative that will be the first one to own new vehicles in the new fleet modernization program," said Orbos.
Denying claims that the e-jeepney is too costly, Orbos said the units range from PHP700,000 to PHP1.5 million. He added that it is up to the jeepney driver to decide on the kind of vehicle that they will use. If they opt for an air-conditioned one, that will cost PHP1.5 million, Orbos said.
Under the jeepney modernization program, the government is giving a PHP80,000 subsidy and the banks that will finance these units will charge nominal interest.
Noting that a standard jeepney with a new engine now costs PHP1.2 million to PHP1.3 million, the e-jeepney is therefore even lower priced, Orbos noted.
"I would not say it (e-jeepney) is affordable but I would rather say it is very reasonable," he said. (PNA)
