Cebu City rolls out the first batch of jeepneys on November 20, 2020. CDN Digital photo | Delta Dyrecka Letigio
CEBU CITY, Philippines — A one-stop shop will once again open for the jeepney operators who want to go back to their routes in Cebu City by the second week of June.
Councilor James Cuenco, the head of the Jeepney Task Force (JTF) told CDN Digital in a phone interview that as of June 2, 2021, there are already at least 300 jeepney operators applying for the Balik Pasada program after Mayor Edgardo Labella decided to reopen all routes.
The application may take some time for the operators because the office of the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), and the JTF are in separate locations in the city.
The testing for the jeepney units is also outside Cebu City, causing more hassle for the jeepney operators.
With this, Cuenco said they are planning to hold another one-stop-shop for the Balik Pasada applicants in hopes to hasten the return of the traditional jeepneys to the streets.
Although no specific date has been identified, Cuenco said they target the one-stop-shop next week if they get all agencies on board in time.
“Nagcoordinate pa ta with the Vice Mayor’s Office kay we want to set it up sa Plaza Sugbo except for the MVIS (Motor Vehicle Inspection System) kay kulang silag personnel. Ang MVIS adto na lang gyod sa Subangdaku (Mandaue City),” said the councilor.
Still, they hope to hold the one-stop shop because there is an apparent need to get the jeepneys back on the road with more buses planning to pull out of Cebu City.
At least 41 buses have already pulled out of Cebu City and Cuenco expects more to signify their plan to return to the provincial routes soon.
As of now, only 297 buses are plying the city routes along with at least 266 modern jeepneys. Only around 500 traditional jeepneys were able to return to the streets in the first batch of reopened routes.
Cuenco hopes that more jeepneys will be applying for the reopened routes to meet the demands for public transport in the city. /rcg