OTC: Commuters in areas of PUVs w/ no merged franchise to pay more fares

Jeepneys in a terminal in Nagtahan, Manila (INQUIRER file photo / RICHARD A. REYES)

MANILA, Philippines —  Commuters may have to pay for more expensive alternative modes of transportation on “short routes.”

This condition will happen in areas where no public utility vehicle operator will comply with the December 31 deadline for franchise consolidation.

Department of Transportation – Office of Transportation Cooperatives (DOTC – OTC) Chairman Andy Ortega explained the reason is because commuters in such routes may have to resort to other modes of transportation such as taxis and tricycles.

“Clearly, there are other modes of transportation that can help with the routes we are talking about,” he said.

“Yung maliliit na ruta na hindi consolidated, kaya po ‘yan ng mga tricycle, ng taxi,” he noted.

(The small routes that are not consolidated can be handled by tricycles and taxis.)

“In fact, the major routes that are consolidated, dahil mahaba po ang ruta nito, nandoon po in between three or four kilometers po ‘yung ruta ng mga unconsolidated,” he explained.

(In fact, for the major routes that are consolidated, because their routes are long, the routes of those who have unconsolidated franchises are between three or four kilometers.)

The transport official further said operators with consolidated franchise will only have until the end of January to ply their routes “pending the process of assigning units coming from other routes.”

The official added DOTr and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will expedite the process of issuing special permits to the reassigned units.

“Pabibilisin namin ‘yung pagbibigay ng special permit… para po talagang kung ano yung binabayad dati na certain amount will still be the same amount na babayaran niya,” he said.

(We will expedite the issuance of special permits… so that what was previously paid will still be the same amount that will be paid.)

“Yung difference nito, sasaluhin muna ng ating passengers, and we know that,” he admitted.

(Passengers will initially bear this difference, and we know that.)

“Temporary po ang ganoong klaseng solusyon at temporary po ‘yung mararamdaman nilang difference,” Ortega said.

(That kind of solution is temporary, and the difference they will feel is temporary.)