The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has promised to provide assistance to jeepney drivers who were affected by the consolidation scheme under the PUV Modernization Program (PUVMP).
During the recent Kapihan sa Bagong Pilipinas forum last Tuesday, June 4, LTFRB Region 4-A Director Loumer Bernabe announced that has launched a scholarship and livelihood program for drivers affected by the PUVMP.
“TESDA (Technical Education and Skills Development Authority) and the Department of Labor and Employment are providing trainings and knowledge to help them find employment. There is [TESDA’s] TsuperIskolar [program], while the DOLE provides schooling allowance while they undergo training,” the director explained.
In partnership with DOLE, the LTFRB has also launched an “enTSUPERneur” program offers alternative livelihoods to affected PUV drivers through the DOLE Integrated Livelihood Program (DILP), providing capital and capacity building in livelihood and entrepreneurship.
A total of 21,820 PUV units traversing 533 routes have been consolidated into a single entity, comprising 82 percent of the total units in the region, as of April 30, the final deadline for consolidation.
For jeepneys, a total of 20,754 units and 443 routes have already undergone consolidation.
As per Resolution 053 Series of 2024, the LTFRB has also allowed individual operators for 216 routes in Calabarzon with less than 15 authorized units to continue operations, subject to the eventual approval of the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) for these routes.
The remaining 18 percent of unconsolidated units belong to individual jeepney operators, and the LTFRB is urging them to join existing cooperatives that have already consolidated.
Meanwhile, traditional jeepney operators who have joined cooperatives or corporations can still ply their old units until the new modernized units arrive, Bernabe added.
Once the new units arrive, drivers can have the option to continue using their traditional jeepneys, but as private vehicles.
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