Transport groups on Thursday called for the resignation of a Department of Transportation (DOTr) official who was described as “insensitive” and “out of touch” for saying driving a jeepney should be considered a public service, not a means of livelihood.
According to the leaders of the Piston and Acto, Assistant Secretary Mark de Leon “understood nothing” about the hardships jeepney drivers must endure every day not only to provide for their families but also serve thousands of commuters amid the lack of other affordable mass transit options.
In a Palace briefing on Wednesday, De Leon said part of the reason public transport was inefficient was because drivers treated it as a means of livelihood, rather than a public service.
State-given franchises
“First of all, the state gave them franchises to operate a public service… If we look at this as a means of livelihood, [then] we have … individual operators thinking that once they [have enough to pay for] their boundary, they could already go home,” he said.
He added that franchise owners should be “financially capable” to ensure that they could shoulder maintenance and insurance costs for their units.
Known as the “King of the Road,” the jeepney remains one of the most common and cheapest modes of transport in the country, with the minimum fare currently at P9.
Around 180,000 franchised jeepneys nationwide have been targeted by the government for its public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program, under which models 15 years old and above must be replaced by more environment-friendly and fuel-efficient units.
In a statement on Thursday, the DOTr denied that De Leon meant to degrade the livelihood of jeepney drivers, saying he merely wanted to highlight the disadvantages of treating PUV operations as individual businesses.
Old models must go
The agency said it was pushing for an organized transportation business under the modernization program to manage and consolidate franchises and improve fleet management.
“Never did De Leon nor the DOTr demean the livelihood of PUJ operators and drivers. Public transport is a legitimate source of income, but the way we do things needs to change,” the DOTr said.
For Piston leader George San Mateo, however, “the essence of (De Leon’s) statement is that public transport cannot be used as a means of livelihood by smalltime drivers and operators, but it can be capitalized on by corporations.”
Jeepneys remain the cheapest mode of transport because smalltime operators are not profit-hungry, San Mateo stressed.