DOTr eyes inclusion of buses, trucks in modernization plan

INQUIRER FILE PHOTO/NIÑO JESUS ORBETA

Aside from old jeepneys, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is planning to include trucks and buses in the government’s public utility vehicles (PUVs) modernization program, which the government aims to implement this year.

Thomas Orbos, DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure, said that the department has conducted a dialogue between truck owners and bus operators in relation to the impending phase out of old PUVs.

In a report of Radyo Inquirer 990 AM on Wednesday, Orbos said that the “road worthiness” of the affected vehicles would also be considered apart from its age.

The DOTr official, however, assured that the modernization program for buses would not affect the lives of commuters, as well as the delivery services of trucks.

Orbos did not mention an exact date for the implementation of the phase out, but said that it should be made immediately, the radio report said.

Based on the jeepney modernization program, all PUVs aged 15 years old and above would be barred from plying the road.

Jeepney drivers were given three years to adjust under the modernization scheme.           /kga