“We think the traditional jeepneys may still be needed in areas where there is lack of adequate public transportation such as buses and trains especially in far-flung areas in the provinces.”
Unless government representatives and leaders of various groups of jeepney drivers and operators are able to agree on a compromise on the planned phaseout of traditional jeepneys, there will be a one-week strike by some 40,000 jeepney and UV express units beginning March 6.
The transport strike or “tigil pasada,” if it pushes through, is likely to paralyze traffic and cause economic activity to slow down, with dire consequences for an economy already battered by nearly three years of lockdowns due to the COVID-19 pandemic and only now starting to go on the road to recovery.
The threat of a massive transport strike by jeepney drivers has apparently sent the concerned government agencies, such as the Department of Transportation and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board into a frenzy.
At issue is the government’s jeepney modernization scheme, which is part of the bigger public utility vehicles (PUV) modernization program.
The first component of the PUV modernization program is industry consolidation, which, according to the LTFRB, seeks to establish transport cooperatives and legal entities that will be entitled to benefits, like government subsidies and access to credit facilities.
These groups will be tasked to help in modernizing the PUVs and manage the units in a “systematic and predictable manner.”
Under the Department of Transportation’s Order 2017-011, or Omnibus Franchising Guidelines issued on June 19, 2017, only corporations or cooperatives with at least 15 vehicles will be allowed to apply for new routes, restricting jeepneys and other small-capacity vehicles on major roads.
Public transport groups, such as the Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston), emphasize said they have nothing against the modernization of the transport sector.
However, they fear the possibility of jeepney operations getting “monopolized.”
They say they are open to the idea of having a cooperative, as long as the cooperative will allow the operation of individual franchises for individual units and it won’t be monopolized by a single fleet management or corporation.”
The LTFRB has extended the franchises or provisional authority of individual jeepney operators up to June 30. This gives them more time to comply with the consolidation requirements of the jeepney modernization program.
Around 61 percent, or 96,380 of the 158,000 jeepneys nationwide, have already complied with the consolidation requirements of the PUV modernization program. Across the country, there are more than 5,300 units of modern jeepneys in operation.
The LTFRB has explained that once jeepney drivers join a cooperative, they have to change their units right away. They can still operate their traditional until December this year as long as they are consolidated.
While we support the jeepney modernization program that will eventually replace the traditional jeepneys from already crowded city streets and replace them with modern ones that run on lithium-ion batteries that are more environment-friendly, lawmakers are correct in asking the government to postpone its implementation.
We therefore agree with the stand of several senators that the government should postpone the planned phase-out of traditional jeepneys.
Sen. Grace Poe has urged the Department of Transportation (DoTr) to find a “realistic” solution to the concerns raised by jeepney operators and drivers on the modernization program amid the impending transport strike next week.
“The LTFRB should not coerce PUV (public utility vehicle) operators into complying with their guidelines without addressing the sector’s concerns, particularly on the high capital cost of acquiring modern jeepneys.”
The senator said that to continue with the phaseout without taking the views of those to be adversely affected “would run counter to the directive of the Constitution to promote social justice in all phases of national development.”
For his part, Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel 3rd said the government must thoroughly study the details of the proposed financing plan for jeepney modernization.
Pimentel said the jeepney operators and drivers have the right to hold a strike or a collective action “since we have freedom of association and freedom of assembly, too.”
Sen. Maria Lourdes Nancy Binay said, “Yes, we need to modernize, but there should be comprehensive and concrete programs based on a just transition principally because transport is an essential sector.”
We know that traditional jeepneys that are relics of the post-war era pollute the environment in a big way by spewing noxious diesel fumes that blanket the urban landscape at any given day.
But we think the traditional jeepneys may still be needed in areas where there is lack of adequate public transportation such as buses and trains especially in far-flung areas in the provinces.
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