ILOILO – This province targets conducting a comprehensive dry run for jeepneys, particularly with routes serving the primary town or so-called “first towns” (Leganes, Pavia, San Miguel, and Oton), within this month.
This comes after the Iloilo City Government began its implementation of the enhanced Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) this year.
“Pending ang approval [of Iloilo province’s LPTRP] kay ang agreement namon sa Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) nga within this month or this period,” Iloilo Provincial Planning and Development Office chief Mario Nillos told Panay News.
Conducting a dry run is the sole requirement left for the provincial government to submit its proposed LPTRP to the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for approval.
It will aid in determining the number of units per route to be issued by the DOTr and LTFRB in the “first towns” to enter Iloilo City.
“Gusto sang LTFRB i-simulate namon ang actual nga sitwasyon para kon may changes sa plan puede namon ma-change rather than ipa-approve namon kag may changes,” Nillos explained.
With this, the provincial government will hire enumerators and contracts of service to gather data during the dry run.
In the meantime, while the LPTRP is pending, Nillos said the situation in the province and current operations remain, wherein traditional jeepneys could enter Iloilo City.
“Tungod nga wala kami sang transport route plan, ang amon agreement with the city government is that status quo anay kami, meaning ang traditional jeepneys or salakyan nga nagsulod sa first town, as is lamang sina until and unless we could agree,” Nillos added.
Currently, Nillos has deployed personnel in the field to monitor the situation of passengers from the province who may be affected by the implementation of the city government’s enhanced LPTRP.
Engr. Joshua Gaquit, LTFRB-6 Transportation Development Officer II, earlier said each route-specific dry run is estimated to take about two weeks.
Gaquit said aligning the provincial dry run with the city’s LPTRP implementation ensures more reliable data collection, reflecting the real-time dynamics as primary town jeepneys integrate into the city’s traffic flow.
“Simultaneous execution ensures data reliability. Implementing the provincial dry run earlier than the city’s plan could compromise data accuracy,” Gaquit said.
Post-dry run, the provincial government will submit a comprehensive report and the final LPTRP draft to LTFRB-6 for approval.
“The data from the dry run will support the first town proposals, focusing on the specific route requirements. This information is critical for proposing the required number of vehicle units for these towns,” Gaquit elaborated./PN
