A THREE-YEAR transition period for the modernization of public utility vehicles (PUV) is enough, an official said.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chair, Martin Delgra III in a press conference after the Mindanao-wide public consultation on the omnibus franchising guidelines last Friday at Ritz Hotel, said that the PUV modernization plan is possible within three years.
“Based on the study of Department of Transportation (DOTr), three years is enough time for the existing franchises even the new franchises towards the modernization program,” he said.
He added the three-year transition is also flexible since the new franchises issued by the LTFRB will come from the local public transport plan which is provided by the local government units.
Delgra also debunked issues that there is a need for an operator to have a capital of P7 million first before an operator can get franchise.
He added that nothing is fixed about the amount of capitalization in the upcoming department order but it is clear in the guidelines that there should be consolidation of operators into one transport cooperative.
The number of cooperatives catered within one route will depend on the length of the route and number of coop members.
“For example a transport coop will have 10 to 15 units tapos isang ruta ay aabot ng 10 to 20 units ang kailangan so pwede sila (then one route will need 10 to 20 units, so it’s possible),” he said.
Aside from consolidation aspect, the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines specified changes on the design of public utility jeepneys, and non-negotiable type of engine in all types of vehicles.
DOTr Assistant Secretary Mark Richmund De Leon, present during the same press conference, said they are requiring new sets of jeepneys to have doors on the curbside to ensure safety of passengers.
“Kasi alam natin nung danger ng jeepney na nasa likod ng pintuan, yung driver hindi niya alam bumababa na pala yung pasahero, at yung pasahero hindi niya nakikita niya na nakasakay na pala, so yung ang cause ng mga aksidente,(It’s dangerous to have the jeepney’s door at end, the driver might not see the passenger unloading and loading, so it might cause accident),” he said.
De Leon added that non-negotiable part of the guidelines is the use of the Euro-4 engine.
“Kasi (Since) we have a clean air act as law being implemented by Department of Environment and Natural Resources and Dotr, at dahil dito kailangan natin gi-implementa ng (and because of that we have to implement the) Euro-4 compliant for all types of vehicles,” De leon said.
Delgra added that they also encourage the use of eJeep for those who do not want Euro-4 engine.
“We are talking to eJeep manufacturers dito (here), meron din nagpresent sa (somebody presented to) DOTr, eJeep manufacturers from abroad,” he said.
EJeeps are not just powered by electricity it is also combined with solar power on top of the roof.
The LTFRB chair said an inter-agency cooperation has been established with DOTr, Department of Energy, Department of Finance, Department of Budget and Management, Department of Interior and Local Government, National Economic and Development Authority and Department of Trade and Industry to address the financial aspect of PUJ modernization.
He added that aside from these government agencies, the government financial institutions is also on board on the financial and lending packages from government that we are offering to the affected PUJ operators.
“In terms of lending programs as I was told by a bus operator, equity put up nila to borrow money for one unit of bus 40 percent of the entire cost, we are looking figure beyond 10 percent of PUJ it could even go for as low as 5 percent,” Delgra said.
He added they also aim to shorten the years of payment for loans to five to seven years and the government is also looking to guarantee a portion of lending risk.
“Ang PUJ lang po ang binigyan ng (only the PUJ were given) special assistance government in terms of all assistance to address them. This is the concern of DOTr, the president (is) very focus on this, social justice dimension on the part of the PUJ that is why we are careful, compassionate rational concerning the modernization program involving PUJ,” Delgra said.
The Department order with the guidelines will take effect immediately after it is issued, and its first phase will be review and approval of the local transport route plan conducted by the LGUs.
Delgra said there is no deadline for LGUS as it is a self-imposed deadline but they should hurry as the public land transportation plan will be the LTFRB’s basis for the issuance of franchise of drivers.