Passenger jeepneys were the Cebuanos’ main mode of transport pre-pandemic. It is set to make its return on Friday, November 20, 2020. | file photo
(Updated) CEBU CITY, Philippines — Dubbed the ‘King of the Road’, traditional jeepneys are set to make their return in Cebu City on Friday, November 20, 2020.
The Cebu City Jeepney Task Force said that at least 40 jeepneys and drivers will be inspected at the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) one-stop-shop at the North Reclamation Area (NRA).
Once they complete the inspection, which will be more focused now on the roadworthiness of the units and the capabilities of the drivers, jeepneys can immediately serve their routes within the city.
The one-stop-shop is expected to accommodate at least 50 vehicles and drivers per day.
The first batch of jeepneys are those serving the Guadalupe to Carbon route, which, according to the task force, has the largest volume of passengers while the city is under the Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ).
“There are actually 80 to 100 slots for the Guadalupe-Carbon route but only 40 took the swab test, so they will be the first to be rolled out if they pass the roadworthiness [inspection],” said Councilor James Cuenco, the head of the task force.
Cuenco added that one of the reasons why many of the drivers did not register yet is because they are preparing their vehicles for the roadworthiness test, which the councilor said is only understandable.
Once the first batch is rolled out by Friday (not Thursday as earlier reported), the rest of the routes will follow in the coming days.
Health protocols
While some jeepneys start to operate, the Balik Pasada program will continue to register drivers since only approximately 800 of the targeted 1,355 jeepneys pushed through with the registration.
Read: Cebu City considers return of 1.3K jeepneys
The registration and swab testing of drivers will continue once a week until the number of target drivers are achieved.
Cuenco reminds the jeepney drivers that since they are now given a chance to ply the streets again, they should also follow the health protocols set by the city government. Failure to do so would lead to suspension of operations and confiscation of driver’s license.
The jeepney task force will be evaluating the return of the jeepneys for the next two weeks. Should a rise of cases be observed attributed to the jeepneys, the Balik Pasada program will be automatically suspended.
Operation of traditional jeepneys was suspended in April 2020 due to the threat of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which means it has been eight months since drivers last drove their units to serve passengers around the city.
/bmjo