MMDA lifts number coding due to strike

As some transport groups go on strike today to protest the phaseout of old passenger jeepneys, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority
(MMDA) has decided to lift the number coding scheme for public utility vehicles.

The MMDA will also deploy six military trucks and around 300 private buses to ferry stranded commuters, MMDA supervising officer for operations Bong Nebrija said on Sunday.

The mass action is being spearheaded by Piston (Pinagkaisahang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide), Stop and Go Coalition and the No to Jeepney Phaseout Coalition.

In a statement, the groups said the plan to replace gas-powered jeepneys 15 years old and older with models powered by electricity or Euro 4 engines would leave drivers and operators in debt, adding that these vehicles were not suited to the country’s climate and roads.

The draft order of the Department of Transportation requires a jeepney operator to have a minimum capitalization of P7 million for every 10 units.

After a similar strike on Feb. 6, the government said it would charge participants for violating their transport franchise.