This is the belief of Freddie Hernandez, chairman of the Taguig Transport Service Cooperative, who has signed onto the jeepney modernization program aimed at replacing traditional public jeepneys.
"The most important consideration for us is that our vehicles should be environment-friendly, for the sake of nature," stated Hernandez.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III stated that currently, a total of 76.6% of all public utility jeepneys (PUJ) and Utility Vehicles (UV) Express operating nationwide have joined together to become part of corporations or cooperatives under the modernization program.
"It is a resounding success for us because our target rate was only 70 %. Many have joined the program, many believe in the program," Guadiz stated.
Guadiz also assured that there will be no transport crisis on January 31, at the end of the extension for jeepney drivers and operators who did not join cooperatives or corporations for jeepney modernization, the deadline for which was last December.
"In Metro Manila, the rate of consolidation is 97 percent. This means that many of the routes currently in operation will still be running on February 1," Guadiz furthered.
Guadiz also asked for assistance from law enforcement agencies such as the Philippine National Police, Metropolitan Development Authority, and the Land Transportation Office to ensure that the transition to jeepney modernization from January 31 to February will proceed smoothly.
Guadiz noted that there are around 1,000 routes nationwide that did not join the consolidation as part of the modernization program.
In Metro Manila, there are 300 non-consolidated routes, but most of these are short distance or duplicate routes that can be serviced by longer routes participating in the program.
(Photos by Philippine Information Agency)
