ILOILO – The provincial government, through the Iloilo Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), is requesting the cooperation of the public for the start of a province-wide transport simulation exercise.
This exercise aims to validate the routes and fleet size proposed in the Provincial Public Transport Route Plan (PPTRP).
Mario Nillos, chief of PPDO, said routes have been clustered to facilitate easier observation and data gathering by the field technical team they will deploy.
The first cluster includes the ALEOSAN routes, which encompass the following: Alimodian to Iloilo City; Leon to Iloilo City (PUV); Leon to Pavia Terminal; and San Miguel to Iloilo City.
The technical team has allocated two days to observe these routes, firstly on Thursday, Feb. 15, for a normal day and then on Feb. 19 for a peak day.
The designated observation location is Barangay Hibao-an, Pavia, specifically in front of Centennial Town Homes, where the ALEOSAN routes pass.
Nillos clarified that the technical team would monitor the ALEOSAN routes only on Feb. 15 and Feb. 19.
Following the ALEOSAN routes are the Southern Iloilo Routes, which include Oton to Iloilo City; Tigbauan to Iloilo City; Miag-ao to Iloilo City; San Joaquin to Iloilo City; Igbaras to Iloilo City; and Tubungan to Iloilo City.
The simulation exercise for these routes is scheduled for Feb. 21 on a normal day and Feb. 26 on a peak day, with the observation location at Barangay San Antonio, Oton (near San Antonio Elementary School).
Next are the Northern-Central Routes, which comprise Dumangas to Calinog to Iloilo City via Passi City; Pototan to Iloilo City; Mina to Iloilo City; Passi City to Iloilo City; Dingle to Iloilo City; Dumangas to Iloilo City (PUV); Dumangas to Iloilo City (PUJ); Lemery to Iloilo City (PUV); San Rafael to Iloilo City (PUV); Carles to Iloilo City (PUV); Barotac Viejo to Iloilo City (PUB); Balasan to Iloilo City (PUB); Estancia to Iloilo City (PUB); Concepcion to Iloilo City (PUB); San Dionisio to Iloilo City (PUB); Sara to Iloilo City (PUB); Estancia to Iloilo City (PUB-P2P); and Balasan to Iloilo City (PUB-P2P).
The dry run for these routes is set for Feb. 28 on a normal day and March 4 on a peak day.
The observation locations are Barangay Camanagay, Leganes (near Sea Garden Resort), and Barangay Buntatala, Leganes (near Buntatala Elementary School).
The Central Line Routes include Cabatuan to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUJ); Maasin to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUJ); Janiuay to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUJ); New Lucena and Santa Barbara to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUJ); Lambunao to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (P2P); Lambunao to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUJ); Pavia to Iloilo City (PUJ); Bingawan to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUJ); Calinog to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (MB); Calinog to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (PUB); and Calinog to Pavia’s People’s Terminal (P2P).
The simulation for these routes is planned for March 6 on a normal day and March 11 on a peak day, with the observation location at Barangay Ungka 1, Pavia (in front of the Injap building).
The Northern Iloilo Routes – Lemery to Sara (PUJ); Carles to Estancia (PUJ); Sara to Estancia (PUJ); Sara to San Dionisio (PUJ); and Janiuay to Dumangas – will have their simulation exercise scheduled for March 13 on a normal day and March 18 on a peak day, with the survey location to be announced.
Lastly, for other extended and modified routes such as Oton to Dumangas (PUJ); Barotac Viejo to Dumangas (PUJ), and other routes to be identified, these are scheduled for March 25, but the survey location is yet to be announced.
Nillos explained that for every cluster route, a normal day (any day from Tuesday to Friday) and a peak day (all Monday) have been selected for observation and data gathering while allowing the operation of public utility vehicles (PUVs).
During the simulation exercise, the scenario will mimic ordinary days with all PUVs in operation. The PPDO will place flaglets on the PUJs of each route as a sign of the vehicles undergoing observation.
For instance, for the San Miguel-Iloilo City route and vice versa, where only 40 PUJs are allowed to operate under the route plan, the technical team will place flaglets on the 40 PUJs, assign dispatch times, observe the turnaround, check if 40 units are sufficient, and gather other data.
The data collected by the technical team will be presented to the PPDO to make amendments to their proposed route plans.
Nillos also clarified that not only “first town” jeepneys are covered by the simulation exercise but all routes of the 42 towns and Passi City.
The “first towns” jeepneys refer to those from Oton, Pavia, San Miguel, and Leganes that are allowed to enter Iloilo City.
“Bear with us because our purpose here is to enhance the accessibility, convenience, and cleanliness of our public transport, especially our modernized jeepneys,” said Nillos.
For Nillos, the province-wide dry run is crucial to determine the number of fleets or vehicles the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) will allocate to each route and per cooperative./PN
