LTFRB: Unconsolidated but registered PUVs may operate ’til April 30
MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Thursday said all unconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUV) may operate until April 30, 2024, provided they are registered.
Citing the agency’s Memorandum Circular (MC) 2024-001 released on January 30, LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz III announced that a provisional authority will be provided to unconsolidated PUVs to allow them to operate until April 30.
LTFRB released the memorandum after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. once again extended the deadline for the consolidation of PUVs to April 30, 2024.
“The authority to operate the units of all unconsolidated individual operators is extended until 30 April 2024, provided the unit is currently registered with the Land Transportation Office and has a valid Personal Passenger Accident Insurance Coverage,” the memo read.
“Confirmation of units of unconsolidated individual operators may be allowed until April 30, 2024. The said units are allowed to ply the route as PUV only within the said period,” it added.
Before the extension, LTFRB said unconsolidated PUVs operating after Jan. 31 would be considered “colorum” vehicles.
Meanwhile, the new memo also sets guidelines for filing applications for consolidation, reiterating that all applications shall comply with the documentary requirements and procedures of the previous MC 2023-050.
Under the memo, consolidation is allowed on existing rationalized routes with no consolidated entity as of December 31, 2023, under the routes covered by the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP).
However, consolidation is allowed for routes not yet covered by LPTRP if the number of unconsolidated units in a particular route is at least 40 percent of the total number of authorized units (NAU).
“If the number of unconsolidated units is below 40 percent of the total NAU, consolidation shall not be allowed,” the LTFRB explained.
Instead, unconsolidated individual operators may join existing Transport Service Entities (TSEs).
For routes with NAU of less than 15 units, consolidation shall be allowed if the consolidation application covers at least most of the existing NAU on the said route.
Due to this, individual operators whose application for consolidation was limited by prior issuances of the Board restricting the number of units to at least 15 units may now be allowed to form their own TSE or join any existing TSEs in overlapping routes until April 30.
With the extension of the consolidation deadline, the period to complete the required number of units for consolidation has also been extended to April 30.
Withdrawal from cooperatives
Meanwhile, the new memorandum also states that individual members may withdraw from a cooperative without the need for Office of Transport Cooperatives Endorsement, so long as their application is still pending with the LTFRB or its Regional Franchising and Regulatory Office and no Certificate of Public Convenience has been issued at the time of withdrawal.
The same conditions apply to individual stockholders and members who wish to withdraw from a TSE corporation.
