‘First town’ jeepneys allowed in Iloilo City

PHOTO FROM THE OFFICIAL WEBSITE OF ILOILO”S PROVINCIAL GOVERNMENT / iloilo.gov.ph

ILOILO CITY — The Iloilo provincial government and jeepney operating entities in Iloilo City have reached an agreement on June 3 to allow 40 percent of “first town” jeepneys from the city’s neighboring towns to enter during peak hours.

This 40 percent, which refers to the number of consolidated jeepneys, would be allowed in Iloilo City from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The agreement came after a lengthy discussion between the provincial government, operators, and the Iloilo City Traffic Management Unit (ICTMU) on Monday, following the operators’ opposition to Iloilo Gov. Arthur Defensor Jr.’s request to allow the entry of six loop routes from the province.

“We will be provisionally working with Iloilo City, but our transport groups will be following the [traffic] rules, so that the transport groups operating in the city will not be negatively affected. In the meantime, we will fast-track the approval of the province’s own transport because it has been reviewed four times,” Defensor said.

The request was contained in Defensor’s May 8 letter to Iloilo City Mayor Jerry Treñas, seeking to allow the 40 percent from the “first towns” of Leganes, Oton, Pavia, and Santa Barbara.

Treñas approved the letter but the date of when it was made was not indicated.

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The routes requested include Oton to Iloilo City, Leganes to Iloilo City (via Benigno Aquino Avenue), Leganes to La Paz, Pavia to Iloilo City (via B. Aquino Ave.), Pavia to Iloilo City (via La Paz), and Sta. Barbara to Iloilo City.

This was made in line with the lack of an approved Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) by the province.

Iloilo City’s own LPTRP, which provides for the allowed jeepney routes as approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, does not allow provincial jeepneys to operate within the city.

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Provincial Planning and Development Office head Mario Nillos said  the percentage was based on simulation exercises done with cooperatives based in Oton, Pavia, and Leganes.

“It was for us to determine how many vehicles were needed during the peak [hours] and during off-peak. We did it one by one, with monitoring points where personnel check how many vehicles, how many passengers, and how long is the turnaround time,” Nillos explained on Monday.

The Western Visayas Alliance of Transport Cooperatives and Corporations on June 1, expressed their opposition to provincial jeepney allocations higher than 25 percent, instead proposing a strict 25 percent and a 15 percent “buffer.”

“Allowing the entry at one instance of more than [25 percent] of traditional units from first town would create traffic congestion and affect the turn-around of awarded units of City loops thereby greatly affecting the revenue generations/profitability of the routes/cooperatives which would affect the provision of quality transport services to the riding public,” the group said in their manifesto.