Bacolod City-As part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP) of the government, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board(LTFRB) approved the Local Public Transportation Route Plan (LPTRP) of this city.
“This route plan is a statement that Bacolod is, indeed, progressing to greater heights. This is just one of the many plans that we envision to make our city more liveable; a city that can and will take action to address the needs of our people,” Mayor Evelio Leonardia said.
It learned that the city was the second highly-urbanized city in the Philippines to have its new local route plan approved by the LTFRB, the mayor emphasized.
Earlier, Councilor Dindo Ramos, chairperson of the Committee on Transportation and Traffic, has authored the City Ordinance No. 966 that adopts the LPTRP, and provides policies and guidelines for its implementation and other purposes.
Prior to the approval of the ordinance, Leonardia also issued Executive Order No. 10, in 2019 that pushed for the creation of the Bacolod City LPTRP team and committee spearheaded by City Planning and Development Office (CPDO) chief Mary Jean Ramos.
Leonardia turned over the city’s route plan to LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra, III on Wednesday at Bacolod City Government Center lobby during a ceremony.
The PUVMP is an advocacy of the Department of Transportation ( DOTr) and LTFRB that aims to provide safe, adequate, accessible, environment-friendly and comfortable public transport to the general public and a long-term solution to the “worsening public transportation situation in the country.
LTFRB Regional Director Richard Osmeña thanked the city officials,especially to Councilor Ramos, for taking up this challenge of formulating a LPTRP fit for a highly-urbanized city.
Osmena said Bacolod’s plan of 24 routes and 1, 099 units is “another milestone for the City of Smiles.
The CPDO head explained that the units and routes included in the ordinance were carefully studied by the DOTr.
The agency also used the data that it gathered through surveys conducted with passengers as respondents.
The CPDO chief also hopes that that initial route plan will take off this year as the city eyes to open more in the future./PN
