Jeepneys undergo inspection at the North Reclamation Area in Cebu City before they will be allowed to ply their routes in this November 20, 2020 photo. CDN Digital photo | Delta Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Jeepney operators and drivers are urged to avail of the Balik Pasada one-stop-shop, which will be ending on November 27, 2020.
Councilor James Cuenco, the head of the Cebu City Jeepney Task Force, said that they will be wrapping up the one-stop-shop by tomorrow as there are now jeepneys plying the streets, though not as many as they expect.
As of November 26, 2020, the city already rolled out a total of 154 jeepneys in 18 routes. The number of qualified drivers is already more than 50 as of November 25, 2020, and 800 more are waiting for their swab test results.
Cuenco said that the turnout is low since they wanted to roll out a total of 1,355 jeepney units. He attributed this to the fact that many of the jeepney units were not able to pass the roadworthiness test.
He said this is expected since the jeepneys were stuck in the garages for more than six months.
“We need to end the one-stop-shop because we have been doing this for two weeks already and it has been taking a toll on our employees and of the other agencies. The agencies will have to attend to other LGUs (local government units) also,” said Cuenco.
Still, the city government will continue the Balik Pasada Program by helping the drivers and operators process their requirements.
As for the tests, the operators will have to go through these normal processes at the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
With this, he urged the jeepney operators who still need to finish their inspections to take advantage of the remaining time left at the one-stop-shop.
Cuenco hopes that by tomorrow, more jeepneys will already be out on the streets to augment the current lack of public transportation in the city. /rcg