ILOILO City – To level up the services of several city hall offices, the city government plans to use modern jeepneys.
“These jeepneys will provide easy transportation for our street sweepers, traffic aides, and personnel of our beautification program and environment and natural resources office to their places of assignment,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
Three modern jeepneys may be purchased next year, he said.
Treñas said he was impressed with the modern jeepneys that are now operating in the city.
These jeepneys – actually minibuses – are air-conditioned, have handrails and security cameras, and can accommodate 30 passengers.
“This new mode of transportation is one way of levelling up the work of our employees,” said Treñas. “Buligan ta mga workers ta para mahapos man sa ila.”
On Nov. 28, after six months of delays, modern jeepneys of the Iloilo City Alliance of Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC) finally started operating. The minimum fare is P10.20 for the first four kilometers plus an additional P1.20 for every succeeding kilometer.
Air-conditioned units are serving the “Ungka-ITGSI-Iloilo City via CPU” route. This is from the Iloilo Terminal and General Services, Inc. (ITGSI) terminal in Barangay Ungka, Jaro district to the City Proper passing by Central Philippine University.
ICAODTC launched its modern jeepneys on May 8 and announced that 12 units would start operating after a week. But this did not materialize.
There were hitches that included the slow completion of the ICAODTC garage and the transfer to the cooperative of the certificates of registration (CR) and official receipts (OR) of their old jeepney units required by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
ICAODTC modern jeepneys would be using the Automatic Fare Collection System (tap cards) in the near future but for now “passenger assistance officers” would be collecting the fare from passengers, according to Rizal Alido, board secretary of ICAODTC.
The LTFRB has allowed ICAODTC to serve three more routes and operate a total of 104 modern jeepney units.
The three additional routes are Villa Baybay, Ungka-ITGSI via Diversion and Jaro Plaza-Manduriao but Alido could not yet ascertain when their modern jeepneys would start serving these routes.
“Our transportation is levelling up, just as what our mayor wants for our city,” he stressed.
The government’s move to modernize Philippine public transport aims to minimize air pollution and improve public transport safety. Most jeepneys are not compliant with smoke emission standards, according to the LTFRB./PN
