benefit from modernization: DOTr

PUV modernization good to go

BY THE MANILA TIMES
SEPTEMBER 11, 2017

 HOME
 /
 OPINION
 /
 EDITORIAL
 /
 PUV MODERNIZATION GOOD TO GO

The message behind a lower court decision last month—scrapping a

transport group petition to stop the Department of Transportation from
implementing the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines on modernizing
public utility vehicles—needs no brilliant legal mind to understand.

The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) is a

long-overdue revamp of the public transport system in this country.
This program badly needs a push for the sake of public commuters
who suffer the daily indignities of standing in long queues of waiting
passengers under the heat of the sun or in the middle of a downpour,
inhaling the stench of passing smoke belching buses, taxis, jeepneys,
trucks and private cars, desperate for a ride to the office or school,
only to get caught in hours of traffic on the road once able to catch a
ride, and then go through the same ordeal on their way back home
later in the day.
The good old jeepney, a legacy of Filipino ingenuity in the aftermath
of World War Two, has served us well all these years, but has failed to
catch up with the changing needs of the public and made itself
unappealing as a means of mass public transport in this age of the
Internet of Things. Most people who have the means would rather use
a ride-hailing app on their mobile phones to grab a little comfort on
their way to their destination.

The Transportation department argued that the certificate of public

convenience—practically the license to operate—issued to PUV
operators is not a right but a privilege, subject to the state’s police
power through the DOTr and the Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board.

The Quezon City court decision has paved the way for lifting the
moratorium on accepting new applications for certificates of public
convenience, which had been in place since 2003. “This forms part of
the PUVMP that seeks to provide a safer, more comfortable and
environmentally sustainable mode of public transport to commuters by
upgrading vehicles to meet international safety, energy efficiency and
emission standards,” according to the DOTr.

The modern PUV will have an automatic fare collection system,

closed-circuit television cameras, GPS navigation system, dashboard
cameras, Wi-Fi and speed limit devices—the trappings of
technological modernity.

What a sigh of relief such accoutrement could bring the Filipino

commuters once the program is in full swing starting 2018.

Advertisements
The guidelines also intend to bring order to the chaotic traffic situation
we all find ourselves in, by giving local government units (LGUs) the
authority to plan public transport routes based on current travel
patterns in their respective areas.

This means LGUs may also be held accountable for their own mess if
the traffic schemes along their respective routes prove to be messier
than things stand now, because these routes—the Local Public
Transport Route Plan—will serve as a basis for the issuance of
franchises by the LTFRB. Not all, however, is set in stone as the
routing scheme may still be tweaked for best results.

To jumpstart the program, the Development Bank of the Philippines is

providing a P1.5-billion financing facility, to be signed today by
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade and DBP Chairman Alberto
Romulo at the new DOTr headquarters in Clark City, Pampanga.

The DBP has developed the Program Assistance to Support

Alternative Driving Approaches (PASADA) as a credit vehicle for
transport corporations and cooperatives to acquire new PUVs.
Supposedly, the seven-year loans are payable daily and carry a 6
percent annual interest rate.

What about the individual borrower? It looks like the government

strategy is to push the public transportation sector into a corner where
the more feasible option to riding on the benefits of the PUVMP is
consolidation, despite the protestations of unfair policy treatment by
transport groups earlier this year.

By joining a transport cooperative, the lone PUV owner—whose

vehicle might be a “colorum,” lacking the backing of regulatory
requirements—becomes a part of the system but abiding by its rules,
which should make it easier for the government to monitor and keep
in check any violation.
But no tide waits for any man and the PUVMP is good to go,
signifying change and progress in the public transport system that has
long been ignored and allowed to deteriorate by past administrations.
Time is ripe for the public Filipino commuters to get their fares’ worth
every time they take a PUV.

All public transport stakeholders to benefit

from modernization: DOTr
By Joyce Ann L. Rocamora September 20, 2018, 7:09 pm

Share

MANILA -- Department of Transportation (DOTr) Assistant Secretary Mark de Leon on Thursday

clarified his remarks that drew flak from several groups and a lawmaker as the agency promoted the
benefit of consolidated operations in public transport.

"Ang sinasabi po natin doon, 'yong mga existing operators po kasi natin naging practice na
'yong individual operator, individual franchise, so talagang tinitignan ito as means of livelihood. Pero
ang sinabi natin doon, ito 'yong pinaka-ugat ng inefficiencies noong ating public transport system
(What we are saying here that it has been the practice of existing operators to be individual
operators with individual franchise so it has been perceived as a means of livelihood. But this has
become the very root of inefficiencies in our public transport system)," de Leon said during the
DOTr's Senate budget hearing.

"Kapag tayo ay nag-modernize kailangan natin ito na maging consolidated, iyong operations, para
mas makuha nila 'yong benepisyo ng programa. Kapag consolidated ang operations at mas maayos
ang pagpapatakbo ng transport system, doon natin makikita ang benepisyo pati sa mga commuters,
so 'yong mga commuters magiging reliable ang kanilang mode of transport every day (When we
modernize, we need the operations to be consolidated so that they get out most of the program. If
the operations are consolidated and the transport system runs smoothly, we can reap the benefits,
including the commuters. They would have a reliable mode of transport every day)," he added.

De Leon said instead of having individual operators, the franchises for the Public Utility Vehicle
Modernization Program (PUVMP) will be given to cooperatives.

A total of 486 cooperatives were already formed under the PUVMP as of this month.

Through this, de Leon said the financial viability of the operations is ensured because of organized
dispatch and fleet management.
On Thursday, Senator Grace Poe made an exception on de Leon's comments, saying DOTr should
first protect the welfare and interest of some 600,000 jeepney drivers who may be affected by the
modernization program.

In 2017, the DOTr officially launched the jeepney modernization program that ordered the
replacement of jeepneys aged 15 years or older. Its major component is the Omnibus Franchising
Guidelines, which serves as a reference in issuing public-transportation franchises for existing or
proposed routes under the program.

As of Sept. 20, the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said 16 out of 131 approved
routes were already accommodating modern jeepney units.

Of the 16 routes, the DOTr targets to mobilize at least 706 PUVs. However, only 198 of the expected
number are in operation due to manufacturing problems.

LTFRB Board Member Ronaldo Corpuz said about 3,200 new jeepney units are expected to ply the
131 routes approved by the agency. (PNA)