DOTr exec says 83% of PUVs already consolidated

A Department of Transportation official on Monday said around 83% of public utility vehicles have already been consolidated.

''To clarify, when we talk about percentage, 100% supposedly consolidation and then umabot na po tayo ng 83%. So, we have 17%. But iyong numero po na hindi talaga or ayaw mag-consolidate and we are talking of the groups, that’s more or less mga 5% po iyon,'' DOTr Undersecretary Andy Ortega said at a Palace press briefing. 

The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) started in 2017 to replace jeepneys with vehicles that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to lessen pollution.

It also aims to replace units that are no longer considered roadworthy.

A modern jeepney unit, however, costs over P2 million, an amount that even state-run banks LandBank and Development Bank of the Philippines said was too expensive for PUV drivers and operators.

The consolidation of individual PUV franchises into cooperatives or corporations is the initial stage of the modernization program.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board earlier said that PUVs, which did not consolidate after the April 30 deadline, would be deemed as “colorum” or a PUV operating without a franchise.

LTFRB chairperson Atty. Teofilo Guadiz III warned that those PUV operating without a franchise could be apprehended by the Land Transportation Office.

In July, LTFRB said unconsolidated jeepneys and UV Express units are allowed to operate in over 2,500 routes with a low number of consolidations,

According to the LTFRB’s Board Resolution No. 53 Series of 2024, unconsolidated public utility vehicles do not need to file for consolidation but are still subject to the approval of the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) or the Route Rationalization Plan (RRP).

“[T]o ensure the supply of public transportation in low [number of authorized units] routes, the Board hereby RESOLVES to allow individual operators of PUJ and UVE on low NAU routes to operate on their existing routes without the need for filing an Application for Consolidation but subject to the eventual approval of the LPIRP and RRP,” the resolution, dated April 30, states.—AOL, GMA Integrated News