DOTr readies contingency for end-of-January scenario
MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Thursday said it is already holding talks with various government agencies to ensure a smooth transition following the issuance of an order allowing nonconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUVs) to ply their routes only until the end of January 2024.
Speaking at the Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon news briefing, DOTr-Office of Transportation Cooperatives chair Jesus Ferdinand Ortega said the agency has “close coordination” with the interior department, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and Philippine National Police as well as with transport cooperatives and corporations to make sure that the riding public will not be inconvenienced by the possible reduction of PUV units.
“We will be helping each other to ensure that there will be an orderly transition — which is very important — so that we can fix the routes and the commuting of our passengers,” Ortega said.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) earlier issued a memorandum circular, which took effect Dec. 25, allowing unconsolidated PUV drivers and operators until the end of January 2024 to ply select routes.
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When the Dec. 31 deadline to consolidate lapses, the LTFRB and its regional offices will issue show-cause orders to such drivers and operators for them to explain why their franchises should not be revoked for failing to comply with the guidelines of the government’s PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP).
Under the program, PUVs are required to form cooperatives and corporations to enable them to receive government subsidies, get access to credit facilities, and obtain other forms of assistance to help modernize their fleets.
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. earlier said the DOTr’s Dec. 31 deadline for consolidation would no longer be extended.
“We want everybody to join [in the consolidation] so that they can continue to earn a living, to continue to ply their routes, because the PUVMP is really a program for our riding public who deserve reliable, safe, and convenient travel — that is our commitment to them,” Ortega said.
