ILOILO CITY -- Iloilo City will beat the February 2019 deadline to come up with its Local Public Transport Route Plan Manual, head of the Public Safety and Transportation Management Office, Jeck Conlu, said Friday.
Working on the transport plan is very tedious because they have to consider a lot of factors, and because their data gathering delays the preparation, Conlu said in an interview Friday.
“We need to coordinate with our MIGEDC (Metro Iloilo Guimaras Economic and Development Council) members because they also ply city routes,” he said, adding that they hope to complete the plan by February because it is a mandatory requirement under the government’s modernization program (Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program).
Under the modernization program, Conlu said, the number of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) will be reduced because the units will be designed to look like a mini-bus that has a bigger capacity.
They are also studying what routes to reduce and what routes to increase, and they are still accounting those that have renewed their franchises, he said.
Moreover, transport associations will be formed into a cooperative so that should there be a need to talk to the sector, they would be talking with the cooperatives.
Conlu said drivers in the city are supportive of the plan, and that some of them have already begun to form cooperatives.
“Whether we like it or not, our direction is towards modernization,” he said.
In addition to jeepneys, the crafting of the plan also considers if there is a need to add more taxicabs in the city.
“For now, there is a franchise moratorium for taxis. Unless we complete the transport plan, then that’s the time that the LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) can issue (a) franchise,” he said.
He said that more than 3,000 franchises have been issued by the LTFRB but they are still collating data on running or operational units.
He also said they are studying the routes where tricycles should be allowed to pass because under the modernization program, they are no longer allowed to traverse national highways.
On the other hand, he said his office will call for a consultation with the transport group next week, in line with the proposed Advanced Traffic Management and Security Surveillance System.
The system makes use of technology, rather than manual operation, to ensure the smooth flow of traffic, Conlu said, adding that in the next 10 years, they could not just manually manage the traffic.
“We need to upgrade, we need to use technology because the human factor has a big percentage in terms of being inefficient,” he said.
He added that they are about to complete the conduct of the traffic count. The design and physical status of the roads are already done.
Conlu expressed hope that it would be carried out once the system is completed because its implementation entails a bigger budget. (PNA)
