In 2017, the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) was initiated by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). Among others, its primary goal was for public transportation to be more efficient and environmentally friendly by 2020.
It is now 2024 and yet the said program has not been fully operationalized.
The lackadaisical implementation of PUVMP allegedly could have been triggered, among others, by the hereunder contentious issues, to wit:
the very stiff cost (estimated at P2.6 million per unit) of modernizing a jeepney;
the requirement for jeepney operators to form/join a cooperative/corporation;
the lack of route rationalization plan to be crafted by the local government units (LGUs);
If the government has not seriously considered financial sourcing (loans/subsidy) for jeepney operators to defray the expensive cost of jeepney modernization; has not made it a requirement for them to form/join a cooperative/corporation to get franchise; and has thoroughly persuaded (not just thru an order) the LGUs in making a local public transport plan, then it is never too late for DOTr and LTFRB to reconsider adopting these aforesaid factors to pave the way for the successful implementation of the PUVMP.
Further, there may be an urgent need for the DOTr and LTFRB to revisit/review the overall PUVMP in thorough consultation and adequate collaboration with all the stakeholders (jeepney operators/franchise holders; transport cooperatives/corporations, selected commuters, LGUs, et al.).
Indeed, it is very difficult to formulate a program and implement the necessary plans in the transport system sans an adequate initiative and support from the government sector.
In this regard, let it be said that the “end does not justify the means.”
Emiliano M. Manahan Jr.,
onan512004@yahoo.com