A SOLON on Monday called on the government to subsidize public transport cooperatives, particularly for jeepneys and vans, to help drivers and operators cope with the transition to modern vehicles.
Albay Rep. Jose Ma. Clemente S. Salceda opposed the scheduled phaseout of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and vans by June 30 “without government providing concrete assistance to help PUJs cooperativize or to provide ample seed funding for their cooperatives.”
He said the policy is “cruel and inhumane.”
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) announced last week that it has already moved the phaseout schedule to end-December, provided that PUJ and van operators or owners join an existing group or cooperative.
Operators who fail to consolidate by June 30 will lose their provisional authority and their vehicles will no longer be allowed to ply designated routes.
LTFRB said the consolidation, a part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization program, aims to bring together single operators and drivers as one legal entity to help facilitate the transition to modern transport units.
The transition will require financing for modern vehicles as well as training and other alternative livelihood options for affected drivers and operators.
The Department of Transportation’s (DoTr) proposed P788-million allocation under the 2023 budget for the modernization program was scrapped from the approved expenditure program.
Mr. Salceda said the DoTr and the LTFRB should delegate the transition to modernized transport to local government units (LGUs).
“We should work with local governments… so that LGU-led cooperatives or corporations can run the routes instead, with the displaced PUV (public utility vehicle) drivers are regular employees,” Mr. Salceda said.
Transport groups announced on Monday that they will be conducting a one-week strike beginning March 6 to protest the jeepney modernization program. — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz