The City Government of Bacolod already issued stickers with quick response (QR) code to at least 239 public utility jeepney drivers who are under the interim period that had been part of the consolidated group, City Administrator Lucille Gelvolea said Tuesday, May 7.
Gelvolea said the 239 drivers were already members of the consolidated group where their Provisional Authority (PA) will be valid until December this year.
“The stickers will prove that they are part of the interim period to change their PUJ units in December this year,” she said.
She added the sticker is intended only for the traditional jeepney and it’s not available for the modernized jeep.
Gelvolea also said they started the distribution of the stickers on April 30, the deadline set by the national government for franchise consolidation under the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program.
She said some PUJ drivers under the Bacolod Transport Cooperative (ABTrac) also applied for consolidation at the Land Transportation and Franchising Board (LTFRB)-Western Visayas office.
“It will depend on the LTFRB if their applications will be accepted,” she added.
Junjun Asis, secretary-general of Sentrong Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Negros (SSTONE), earlier said of the 1,463 members of SSTONE and Federation of Bacolod Drivers Association (Febacda), only 153 of them were able to join the consolidation before its deadline on April 30.
Asis said that they would ask the assistance of Mayor Alfredo Abelardo Benitez to accommodate those who were not able to meet the deadline of the consolidation.
The ABTrac was chaired by Asis with his co-chairperson, Elizabeth Katalbas.
Asis said that some of their members' documents were incomplete and their applications were rejected by the LTFRB.
“We will appeal it to the mayor to accommodate them since we already formed a cooperative and we were given until May 16, 2024 to operate,” he said.
Gelvolea noted that under the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP), it stated that they can increase the number of public utility jeepneys to avail of the PA.
Under the LPTRP, 24 routes have been identified in the city, with a total allocation of 1,099 modern jeepney units under the Public Utility Jeepney Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Gelvolea disclosed that the city government still needs at least 700 modernized jeepney units to accommodate the passengers in various barangays.*