IMAGINE having free Wi-Fi and paying with a card instead of cash for your next ride on board a passenger jeepney.
That, along with closed-circuit TV (CCTV) and dashboard cameras and a global navigation satellite system (GNSS), would be required installation for the next generation of passenger jeepneys to hit the country’s streets in the next few years.
Regional Director Ahmed Cuizon of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-7) said Department Order 2017-011 of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) sets guidelines for the modernization of mass transport.
“I still have to find out the specific date of the implementation, but it will take effect 30 days after the publication of the department order on national circulation. The transition period will also take three years,” Cuizon said.
DO 2017-011 or the Omnibus Guidelines on the Planning and Identification of Public Road Transportation Services and Franchise Issuance was signed last June 19 by Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade.
Cuizon said operators can group themselves to form a cooperative that would implement the program.
Cuizon said passenger jeepneys and public utility vehicles (PUV) will be required to install an automatic fare collection system (ACFS) that would allow passengers to use cards for payment.
The guidelines also state that jeepneys will be limited to plying local roads and prohibited from passing along the national highways or expressways to be used by buses.