THE Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) has scheduled a meeting to resolve an issue involving the alleged overlapping of routes by modern jeepney operators in Barangay Cabancalan.
Team head Edwin Jumao-as said they will invite representatives from Pit-os, Talamban, Mandaue Transport Cooperative (Pitmaco); United Driver and Operators Transport Cooperative (Udotco); and Lapu-Lapu Mandaue Driver Operator Transport Cooperative (Lamadotrasco) to discuss their reported conflict.
The meeting is scheduled on March 20, 2024 at 9 a.m. at the Team’s training hall in Barangay Centro.
At a Traffic board meeting held Thursday, March 7, Jumao-as reported that Udotco and Lamadotrasco accused Pitmaco modern jeeps of entering Cabancalan, resulting to a drop in income for the two operators.
Hyll Retuya, assistant head of Team, said based on the accounts of the two operators, the conflict started in 2023.
Udotco and Lamadotrasco are both franchise holders of jeepneys plying Mandaue City, particularly within Cabancalan, following Mandaue’s Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
They are among jeepney operators operating along Mandaue City’s intra-city routes--Cebu International Convention Center (CICC) to Banilad and Cabancalan, CICC to Cabancalan and Banilad, Tintay to CICC/Parkmall, and the Parkmall loop via DM Cortes.
As illustrated by the LPTRP, Udotco’s operating routes cover A. Del Rosario St. to Parkmall in Barangay Tipolo, while Lamadotrasco covers areas that traverse ML Quezon and Hernan Cortes, heading to Parkmall.
Both operators alleged that Pitmaco jeeps entered their designated routes to pick up passengers in Talamban, Cebu City.
Special permit
However, Pitmaco claims a special permit was issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 that allows them to operate in Udotco and Lamadotrasco’s routes to address the shortage of public transportation in some areas of Cebu.
Jumao-as said Team and Mandaue’s City Planning and Development Office had asked Pitmaco to provide a copy of their special permit to identify their authorized routes and to check if they had operated on other routes without permission.
Team asked Pitmaco to present the papers during their March 20 meeting. / HIC