300 PUV operators join cooperative

(SunStar file)
(SunStar file)

THREE hundred operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) have become members of a cooperative that will help them comply with the government’s public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).

The transportation division of the Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CPMC) aims to purchase 200 new PUVs.

The CPMC awaits the arrival of 15 buses either in May or June.

CMPC chief executive officer Macario Quevedo and lawyer Gary Maningo of the Transport Service Cooperative said they are waiting for franchises from the national office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

In 2017, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) launched its modernization program, banning from the highways jeepneys and buses that are more than 15 years.

DOTr plans to fully implement its program in 2020. It warned operators who refuse to follow PUVMP that their franchises would not be renewed.

Under the PUVMP, LTFRB bans sole proprietorship in running a line of PUVs and it only issues franchises to transport service cooperatives.

CMPC expects more PUV operators to join in the coming months.

LTFRB 7 reported that there are more than 10,000 PUVs running on the streets of Cebu.

“The Cebu People’s Multi-Purpose Cooperative’s project is very timely with the PUVMP. What makes this wonderful is that we are promoting environment-friendly vehicles. At the same time, we are making the transport cooperative the best approach in uplifting the lives of the operators,” said Quevedo.

Last Saturday afternoon, April 13, CPMC entered into an agreement with AF Payment Inc., which agreed to help operate modern PUVs. The fares will be paid using cards.

Present during the signing were the cooperative’s chairman Manolito Adumer, representatives of bus supplier Durabuilt Motors Inc. and Carl Dueñas, the secretary general of Coop NATCCO, among others.

CPMC has 93,000 members nationwide, of which 70,000 are from Cebu. (FROM FMD OF SUPERBALITA CEBU / KAL)

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