Western Visayas has one of the highest number of operational modernized jeepney units in the country based on the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Region 6 report during the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas recently.
LTFRB-6 officer-in-charge Regional Director lawyer Salvador A. Altura, Jr. said the region leads in fleet modernization with 1,256 modernized units in operation under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization program (PUVMP).
“In the whole of Region 6, we have a total of 1,256 modernized units, and it is a source of our pride that we have one of the highest number of operational modernized units among the various regions in the country,” Altura said.
Fleet modernization is one of the components of the modernization program that aims to ensure that all PUVs that take part in the program will follow modern policies, which will complement what the traditional units lack.
The government has extended support through subsidies, easing the financial burden for those transitioning to modernized units.
The Iloilo City Alliance Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC) received a total subsidy of P5.7 million for its 194 beneficiaries.
The Sta. Barbara New Lucena Iloilo Transport Cooperative (SBNITC) and the United Negros Transport Cooperative (UNETCO) each received P1 million.
“We in LTFRB Region 6 are happy and proud to declare that we have achieved so much given the resources made available to us in terms of the modernization program,” Altura added.
Industry consolidation, which consolidates individual franchisers into a single common franchise under the name of a juridical entity, is another component of the modernization program.
“For Region 6, we are successful in terms of convincing 90 percent of our individual operators to join the modernization program,” he noted.
During the Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas, several cooperatives operating in the region with success stories were present.
Among the participants is a representative from Leon Transport Cooperative (LETRANSCO), a provincial transport cooperative operating outside of Iloilo City that evolved from a transport cooperative to a multipurpose cooperative.
Likewise, Aerostar, the first recipient of the electric vehicle, and Roxas City Pontevedra UV Transport Cooperative (RCPUVTC), the first group to embrace modernization in Roxas, attended the program episode.
Western Visayas Transport Cooperative (WVTC), the biggest transport cooperative in the region, and the United Negros Transport Cooperative (UNETCO), one of the recipients of social support services as part of PUVMP, are among the participants.
The LTFRB official highlighted these cooperatives as having contributed to the success of the modernization program.
“These small success stories will give meaning to the modernization program,” he said.
The PUVMP is the government’s response to address both the aggravating transport related problems and the future transportation demand of the country. (PIA-6)