LTFRB: Jeepney modernization at 80% nationwide

The consolidation rate for the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) has reached 80%, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Friday.

LTFRB chairperson Teofilo Guadiz III added that in the National Capital Region (NCR) around 96% of active jeepneys have already consolidated. 

However, if non-active jeepneys will be included, the consolidation of PUVs in Metro Manila is only around 56%, according to Guadiz.

He attributed the increase to the determination of the government to push the program, the transition of up to four years for PUVs to modernize, and the subsidy for the downpayment of the modernized units.

“Nalaman po ng mga tumututol dito na tila walang kakahantungan yung kanilang pagtutol dahil ang gobyerno po ay desididong isulong ang programa,” he said.

 (Those who objected to the PUVMP have learned that their objection seemed useless because the government is determined to advance the program.)

Started in 2017, the PUVMP aims to replace 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 is the initial stage of the modernization program. 

A modern jeepney unit 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.

Transport groups staged a series of protest marches against the program, saying they had lost their jeepney franchafter their vehicle registrations were transferred to transport cooperatives.

There are still two pending petitions filed against the PUVMP before the Supreme Court (SC).

On December 20, 2023, PISTON and transport groups filed a petition before the SC that sought to stop the implementation of the PUVMP. Another petition was filed against the program on December 28.

The two petitions asked the SC to declare null and void DO No. 2017-11 as well as LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2023-051, which set the deadline for the consolidation. 

The deadline for the consolidation is April 30. —NB, GMA Integrated News