PUV coops have 27 months to replace old units -LTFRB

Following the consolidation of individual operators into transport cooperatives or corporations, the next stage of the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) would involve the actual “modernization” or replacement of old and traditional PUV units into modernized ones.

At the Saturday News Forum in Quezon City, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Member Riza Marie Paches said consolidated PUV operators with old or traditional units can still ply the roads as long as they are deemed road-worthy “until such time they are replaced.”

Paches, however, said transport cooperatives were required to replace old units with modernized ones in 27 months —or two years and three months— after the consolidation deadline.

“We have set a schedule so the replacement of units is not immediate… so within that time, old units can still be utilized as long as deemed road-worthy,” the LTFRB official said in a mix of Filipino and English.

“By 27 months, all units would have been converted or replaced by new and modernized units,” she said.

Started in 2017, the PUVMP aims to replace traditional jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution and replace units that were not deemed roadworthy under the standards of the Land Transportation Office.

The consolidation of individual PUV franchises into cooperatives or corporations --aimed at passing the burden of acquiring modernized units from operators to the transport entity-- is the first stage of the PUVMP.

However, one unit of a modernized jeepney could cost more than P2 million.

The government would only subsidize a portion of the cost of acquiring modern PUVs at P280,000 for Class 2, 3, or 4 units and P210,000 for Class 1 PUVs.

The LTFRB earlier said that the government could not dictate what brand or model of jeepney units the cooperatives and operators would acquire in compliance with the PUVMP.

Meanwhile, Office of Transportation Cooperatives (OTC) Chairman Andy Ortega said drivers and operators of unconsolidated PUV units would not ultimately lose their livelihoods after the consolidation deadline as they can still join or be absorbed by other cooperatives or consolidated PUV entities. — DVM, GMA Integrated News