THE Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) said 97 percent of public utility vehicles (PUVs) in Metro Manila have been consolidated as part of the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP).
OTC Chairman Andy Ortega also said 76 percent of PUVs nationwide have consolidated.
Citing numbers from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), Ortega said around 191,000 PUVs in the country have a franchise, and 146,000 of them have consolidated.
In the National Capital Region (NCR), 22,000 of the 41,000 PUVs with franchises registered for the modernization program in 2023, he said.
Originally, the percentage was around 52 percent until the LTFRB made a recalculation, as out of the 22,000, 21,000 registered.
“If we will base it on the 21,000 franchises that got consolidated and the number that was actually registered in 2022, it’s not just 52 percent who registered, based on the register, it came as high as 97 percent,” Ortega said.
He said those were “revealing numbers.”
“If you look at the actual numbers that are plying, comparing it to the time there were transport strikes, it seems that those that were affected were not that big,” Ortega said. “It looks real that those that are traveling are the 22,000 [PUV franchises].”
The LTFRB has been focused on the NCR, but with the new consolidation numbers, the nationwide rate is expected to change.
He earlier said the consolidation deadline was Dec. 31, 2023, but later confirmed that the OTC was still in talks with Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista on how the government can help jeepney operators and drivers.
“On the part of the OTC, we would be contacting different transport cooperatives nationwide to help jeepney drivers because they rely on their operators, but their operators did not consolidate, so supposedly their franchises should be obsolete by February 1,” Ortega said.
“We’ve asked the cooperatives, and they are very much willing to accept jeepney drivers to join cooperatives or corporations so that they can continue with their livelihoods.”
“I hope we will come up with certain improvements, changes, and developments to help those who did not consolidate,” he said.
The traditional jeepneys that have not consolidated will be considered colorum PUVs after January 31, according to the LTFRB.
In a press briefing on Friday, the board said thousands of PUV routes remain unconsolidated.
In Metro Manila alone, there are more than 300 unconsolidated PUJ routes, LTFRB NCR Director Zona Russet Tamayo said.
Despite the huge number of unconsolidated PUV routes and the threat of another transport strike looming, the modernization program is still a “resounding success,” Tamayo said.
Many of the unconsolidated routes are considered short-distance routes or duplicate routes, which may be serviced by longer routes that have consolidated, she said.
“The list of unconsolidated routes (in Metro Manila) is around 300, but we mapped out these routes that have no consolidated PUVs, and most of these are short-distance routes. That’s how fragmented the public transport system is,” Tamayo said.
At the same briefing, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz 3rd said 76.6 percent of all PUJs and Utility Vehicle (UV) Express operating on fixed routes in the country have joined a corporation or cooperative under the modernization program. This translates to around 145,721 units.
Guadiz agreed with Ortega that the PUVMP “is a resounding success for us because our target rate is only 70 percent. Many have joined the program; many believed in the program.”
Turning to the threat of a transport strike from January 29 to 31, Guadiz said the consolidation rate in Metro Manila is at 97 percent, “which means many routes will have operational units by February 1.
He said he has coordinated with government agencies like the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) and Philippine National Police (PNP) “to maintain peace and order during the transition period.
Based on LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2023-051, all provisional authorities issued to individual operators of traditional jeepneys on all routes without consolidated transport service entities (TSEs) are deemed revoked effective January 1.
At the same time, operators will not be allowed to register these units as PUVs.
All consolidated TSEs and individual operators that were able to apply for consolidation on or before the deadline will be allowed to continue operating under their existing provisional authority, which shall be valid until Dec. 31, 2024.
In order not to hamper public transportation, operators on unconsolidated routes shall be allowed to operate until January 31, pending the permits on assignments of other routes for those who have yet to be consolidated.
The consolidation aspect of the PUVMP has been the subject of protests by transport groups.
They claimed that mandatory franchise consolidation would lead to the phase-out of traditional jeepneys and deprive hundreds of drivers and operators of their livelihood.