Gov’t urged to shift public transport system to service contracting

MANILA, Philippines — The government should overhaul the decades-old system on how bus and jeepney operators make money as part the country’s public transport modernization program to better serve commuters.

Urban development expert Benjie dela Peña said on Tuesday that this can start with migrating franchise holders, such as bus and jeepney operators to service contracts.

Under service contracting, the government will collect the fares from riders and pay the public utility vehicle operator assigned to a specific route a fixed amount, which will be subject to key performance standards, such as the number of trips served and safety.

“The customer is the government and not the passengers. My job [as the driver] is to pick up the passengers but more importantly, my second job is to fulfill the performance requirements,” said Dela Peña, former chief of strategy and innovation at the Seattle Department of Transportation in the United States.

Dela Peña said the behavior of drivers would also shift from the mindset of cramming as many passengers as possible to meet better performance standards.