The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is targeting to modernize the remaining 60,000 traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) within the planned extension of their franchises.
At the Laging Handa public briefing yesterday, Joel Bolano, head of LTFRB Central Office Technical Division , said the government is targeting to cover all 158,000 traditional PUJs in the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP). Of that number, 61 percent have modernized or upgraded their fleet through consolidation with cooperatives.
“The board targets that the remaining 40 percent will comply with the industry consolidation,” Bolano said.
Last week, LTFRB announced the extension of the traditional jeepneys’ franchises set to expire by end of March this year.
Bolano said the guidelines for the extension will be released hopefully within the next week. The guidelines will determine the timetable for the extension of the franchise.
However, Bolano refused to comment when asked if it will be the last extension of the franchises.
The PUVMP was launched by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) in 2017 but the LTFRB continued its consultations with transport groups to address their concerns.
In a related development, Bolano said the LTFRB board is also studying how the transport subsidy will be implemented under the government’s service contracting program
Early this year, the Department of Budget and Management approved the P1.3-billion allocation for the service contracting program under DOTr’s budget for 2023.
Bolano said the LTFRB has yet to decide whether the subsidy will be given through fare discount or free ride services.
LTFRB will also release soon the guidelines for the additional 100,000 transport network vehicles services franchises, according to Bolano.
