PUV MODERNIZATION PROGRAM. The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and Land Transportation and Franchise Regulatory Board (LTFRB), in partnership with SM City Pampanga, launch on Friday (July 5, 2019) the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program caravan in Pampanga. (From L-R) Manny Camagay, head of the Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC) PUVMP-Project Management Office; Raquel Anzures, senior manager of the Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP); Ahmed Quizon, Regional Director of LTFRB; Eldon Joshua Dionisio, Senior Transport Development DOTr Undersecretary-Road Transport and Infrastructure; Aaron Jeffrey Montenegro, SM City Pampanga mall manager; Jeanette Mercado, Supermall Transport Services Inc.-special project manager; and Mario Ojales, department head of CV Dealer Sales Division, officially open booth for modernized jeepneys through a ribbon cutting. (Photo by Marna Dagumboy-Del Rosario)
CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga -- The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) officially launched on Friday in this province the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program caravan.
The move aims to promote public awareness of the Duterte administration’s PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP), in which the LTFRB is tasked to implement for a reliable, safe, adequate, accessible, environment-friendly, efficient, and comfortable public transportation services.
Various modern PUV units were showcased during the launch of the PUV caravan held at the SM City Pampanga.
Manny Camagay, head of the Office of Transport Cooperatives (OTC) PUVMP-Project Management Office, said the modern PUV units run on environment-friendly systems, and are equipped for safety and travel comfort.
Camagay also explained to the drivers plying along Pampanga the benefits of the program which moves them to a salary instead of boundary pay, fleet management, reduced costs, and increased profits through a cooperative system, among others.
Under the PUV modernization program, jeepneys look like minibuses but are called modernized jeepneys from class 1 to class 3, depending on the capacity and size.
Camagay said some of the modernized jeepneys are electric, solar-powered, Euro 4, and there is even a Euro 6 diesel.
“Although it is sad to see our native jeepneys disappear, I think the modernized PUVs are built for comfort, safety and cost,“ said Edgar dela Cruz, a driver plying along City of San Fernando, in the dialect.
The modernized jeepneys have free wi-fi, USB charge ports, personal fans, air conditioner, automatic fare collection systems, convenient with due consideration to persons with disabilities (PWDs).
The PUVMP is not merely a vehicle modernization program. It is a comprehensive system reform that will entirely change the public land transportation industry.
It features a regulatory reform and sets new guidelines for the issuance of franchise for road-based public transport services.
The program devolved the function of route planning to the local government units as they are more versed in the terrain and passenger demand within their respective territorial jurisdiction.
The LGUs, on the other hand, are required under the program to submit their own Local Public Transport Plan (LPTRP) as a prerequisite for the opening of PUV franchises within their jurisdiction.
Route rationalization studies will also be conducted to determine the appropriate mode, quantity and service characteristics of the public transport service in each corridor which will make the routes more responsive to passenger demand, and ensure that the hierarchy of roads and modes of transportation are followed. (PNA)
