When the Department of Transportation implements the jeepney modernization program, passenger utility vehicles 15 years and above will be phased out. The program has also been getting the support of the business sector. CDN FILE PHOTO
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Local transportation officials will be deploying additional public utility vehicles (PUVs) in Metro Cebu, particularly in Cebu City, soon.
But traditional jeepneys remained unlikely to return on the roads.
Eduardo Montealto Jr., director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7), said they will be dispatching at least 75 units of mixed types of PUVs within this week.
Montealto told CDN Digital in a phone interview that the additional PUVs, composed of modern jeepneys, buses, and mini-buses, will serve as feeder routes.
“We are expecting 75 units of PUVs, mixed types, to be deployed hopefully by today (Monday). They will fill other (existing) routes,” said Montealto in Cebuano.
He also said some of the routes will do cross-border travels between the cities of Mandaue and Cebu, and that another 40 PUVs are placed on standby and being readied for dispatch soon.
The LTFRB-7 top official said this is just one of the outcomes of the transportation coordinating meeting they held last Saturday afternoon, September 5, 2020, together with other local officials from Cebu City.
Montealto said chances for traditional jeeps to operate again in the cities of Cebu and Mandaue remained low. He also said they have yet to receive the official communication from the Cebu City Government requesting their agency to allow old jeepneys to return on the roads.
“But we already discussed the matter about old jeepneys during our meeting, especially if we can deploy some of them to fill our existing routes,” Montealto said.
“With 75 new PUV units to be deployed anytime, and 40 more on stand-by, we agreed that our existing buses, mini-buses, and modern jeeps are still sufficient enough to address the demand of the riding public at this point,” he added.
Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella earlier announced that he is keen to have old jeepneys back on the city’s roads to help with the livelihood of operators and drivers. /bmjo
READ MORE: Cebu City to LTFRB-7: Allow traditional jeeps to return