CLAIM: Ivy Taroma, who is running for University Student Council (USC) councilor under Student Alliance for the Advancement of Democratic Rights (STAND UP), claimed April 18 that public utility jeepney operators are required to have a minimum of 10 jeepney units in order to be granted a franchise under the government’s jeepney modernization program.
“At andiyan na rin yung [patakaran] na makabili ng sampung units. At kung iisipin natin, sixteen million ‘to para sa isang operator ng jeepney (And there’s the rule that requires operators to buy 10 units. If you think about it, this means P16 million for a jeepney operator),” Taroma said at the “Kape o USC” forum held at the Yakal Residence Hall.
Recording can be found here. (1:25 to 1:36)
FACT: There is no existing minimum requirement for jeepney operators, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Technical Division Chief Joel Bolano said in a personal interview, April 20.
“(W)alang minimum number of jeepney kasi ang target kasi ng modernization natin is to eliminate na yung one operator, one unit (There is no minimum number of jeepneys required even as the modernization program aims to eliminate the one-unit, one-operate setup) ,” Bolano said.
The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Department Order No. 2017-011, otherwise known as the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines, imposes the 10-unit minimum requirement only on taxi, tourist bus, and transportation network vehicle service (TNVS) operators.
Bolano said the government’s 10-point jeepney modernization program aims to consolidate individual operators into corporations or cooperatives per route. He said the total required number of jeepneys per route will vary, depending on the route rationalization project being conducted by the DOTr and local government units.
