Gov’t wants half of jeep routes rationalized by end of 2025

The government aims to rationalize at least half of the jeepney routes of the Philippines by the end of the year as part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), an official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said Sunday.

According to DOTr Undersecretary Jesus Ferdinand Ortega, the government aims to rationalize 50% of the jeepney routes this year and achieve 100% by the end of 2026, as only 15% has been completed.

“We are now challenging our people in LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board) pati sa akin sa (and with mine in the) DOTr to really achieve that 50%,” he said in an interview on Super Radyo dzBB on Sunday.

This comes as the route rationalization will serve as the basis for the jeepney routes across the Philippines, and will dictate how many jeepney units will be needed per route.

“We have to finish the route rationalization and then after that, doon na magkakaroon ng obligasyon ‘yung ating mga kooperatiba na magpalit ng sasakyan (that is when the cooperatives will have an obligation to change vehicles),” Ortega said.

Under the route rationalization program, the DOTr and the LTFRB coordinate with local government units (LGUs) to study which routes are needed, and how many units are needed to ensure that the demand is met.

Once the numbers are determined, jeepney cooperatives will then be given 27 months to purchase new vehicles that comply with the PUVMP, which aims to have vehicles with Euro-4-compliant engines to lessen pollution and to remove units that are no longer considered roadworthy.

“Hopefully by the end of 2029 lahat to magiging modern na po, hindi lang ‘yung sasakyan kundi pati rin ‘yung mga ruta (all of these will be modern, not just the vehicles but also the routes),” Ortega said. — DVM, GMA Integrated News