PUVMP consolidation rate reaches 81% – LTFRB

MANILA, Philippines — An 81 percent consolidation rate for jeepneys has been achieved under the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP), according to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

About 160,000 units have met the PUVMP’s consolidation requirement, LTFRB chairman Teofilo Guadiz said.

Many operators trooped to the LTFRB offices to join the program at the last minute, he noted.

“That’s why it went up from 77 to 81 percent as many applied for industry consolidation at the last minute,” he told “Storycon” on One News.

Guadiz, however, said they will give due process to over 10,000 jeepneys nationwide that are now deemed colorum units.

Unauthorized units will be impounded 15 days from the end of the consolidation deadline or the second week of May, he noted.

“Impounded vehicles will be brought to Pampanga where we have rented a few hectares of land for the impoundment of vehicles,” Guadiz added.

Consolidation will provide better services to commuters through better fleet management and non-competition between drivers within the same routes, he said.

Fleet modernization will not further burden operators as they are only required to modernize after three years from the time they consolidated, he added.

Phaseout needed

The phaseout of some jeepneys is needed amid oversupply, Guadiz said, as the government is set to crack down on unauthorized vehicles following the lapse of the consolidation deadline.

Guadiz assured the public there would be no transport crisis affecting commuters, even in Metro Manila, as 10,000 jeepneys that did not comply with the consolidation requirement are now deemed unauthorized units.

“In an ideal setting in a jeepney modernization program, we have to phase out some jeepneys. Based on studies, there is an oversupply,” he said.

The PUVMP does not necessarily equate to a total jeepney phaseout as there will still be jeepneys on the road, he added.