Poe to DOTr: What’s happening to jeepney modernization plan?

Sen. Grace Poe. INQUIRER FILE

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) should submit its report and enlighten the public on the latest developments on the jeepney modernization program amid its planned roll out this year, Senator Grace Poe urged on Tuesday.

In a statement, Poe, chair of the Senate committee on public services, said the DOTr should update the public to “avoid confusion and misinformation.”

“The DOTr should update the public to avoid confusion and misinformation. All the details should be laid on the table because as far as ordinary jeepney drivers are concerned, it is their livelihood that is at stake here,” she said.

The senator also appealed for sobriety among jeepney operators and drivers mulling to hold street protests following the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) implementation of the “Tanggal Bulok, Tanggal Usok” program, which some groups are linking to the modernization program.

“The lack of transportation hits the commuters hard and disrupts work and classes,” Poe stressed.

In a Senate panel hearing last December that gathered representatives of jeepney groups and transportation officials, Poe recommended the conduct of a pilot test of the modernization program amid the absence of clear guidelines and lack of consultation with the transport groups.

She proposed that the DOTr try the program in certain areas, and focus first on doable tests, such as compliance to safety, road worthiness and smoke emission.

During the hearing on the PUV modernization program, DOTr officials promised to continually dialogue with PUV organizations, operators and employees.

As a compromise, Poe appealed that old vehicles that pass road-worthiness tests be allowed to continue plying their routes and that jeepney operators comply with the Motor Vehicle Inspection System (MVIS) results which has recently been set up by the DOTr.

While Poe believes there is a need to modernize the country’s public transportation, such as jeepneys, the program should not result in unjustly killing the source of livelihood of the drivers.

“The government should step in to ensure the public a convenient and safe way to commute, with the opportunity for the drivers and operators to upgrade their vehicles. However, it should not be too burdensome for them,” she said.

The DOTr placed the cost of a new jeepney between P1.5 million and P1.8 million, with the government giving P80,000 as subsidy. /cbb