THE Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team) has scheduled a meeting to investigate and resolve an issue with alleged overlapping route between three modern jeepney operators in Barangay Cabancalan.
The head of Team, Edwin Jumao-as, confirmed to reporters on Thursday, March 7, 2024, that they will be inviting 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 the alleged conflict in operating their vehicles within the area.
The meeting is scheduled for March 20 at 9 a.m. at the Team's training hall located in Barangay Centro.
Sudden entry?
At the traffic board meeting held on Thursday, March 7, the team discussed a conflict between three operators.
Jumao-as reported that Udotco and Lamadotrasco had accused Pitmaco modern jeeps of suddenly entering Cabancalan, which resulted in a decrease in income for the two operators.
Hyll Retuya, assistant head of Team, said that based on the two operators, the incident has started since 2023.
Udotco and Lamadotrasco are both franchise holders for plying jeeps within areas in Mandaue City, particularly within Cabancalan, following a route designation stated under Mandaue's Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
They are among jeepney operators that operate 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 Parkmall loop via DM Cortes.
As illustrated within the LPTRP, Udotco's operating routes cover from A Del Rosario Street to Parkmall Mandaue in Barangay Tipolo, while Lamadotrasco covers areas from streets in ML Quezon, Hernan Cortes, also heading to Parkmall.
The two operators alleged that Pitmaco jeeps had entered their designated routes to get passengers, mainly covering the area of Talamban in Cebu City.
Special permit
Pitmaco claimed to have a special permit issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Central Visayas (LTFRB 7) that allows them to operate along Udotco and Lamadotrasco's routes.
LTFRB 7 then issued special permits to selected jeepneys and bus operators to address the shortage of public transportation in some areas of Cebu.
Jumao-as said that Team and Mandaue's City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) 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.
He said they asked Pitmaco to present the papers at their March 20 meeting.
Although Jumao-as did not provide additional information, he mentioned that Pitmaco holds a franchise to operate within Mandaue's four intra-city routes. (HIC)