ADVERTISEMENT
Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider Transport groups ask gov't to allow more jeepneys to operate

Transport groups ask gov't to allow more jeepneys to operate

Published Jul 3, 2020 06:52 pm

As 6,000 traditional jeepneys resumed operations Friday, transport groups asked government authorities to allow more units to go back on the road, citing the fact that the number is only a small fraction of the thousands of drivers who are still left without a livelihood.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) allowed Friday 6,002 public utility jeepneys (PUJs) to ply 49 routes in Metro Manila to ferry more commuters during the general community quarantine (GCQ).

Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (PISTON) National President Mody Floranda said these numbers were only a small fraction of the 74,000 PUJs plying 579 routes in the capital region alone.

"Lubhang napakaliit nito kumpara sa tunay na bilang ng mga jeepney sa Metro Manila. Mananatiling gutom ang maraming drayber at operator (This number is very small compared to the actual number of jeepneys in Metro Manila. Many drivers and operators will remain hungry)," Floranda said.

According to Floranda, at least 150,000 drivers and 50,000 operators have been affected and lost their livelihood since the enforcement of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in mid-March.

Floranda also said that out of the approved routes opened by the LTFRB, only 12 routes are over a minimum of four kilometers long, and just three are over nine kilometers in length.

The PISTON leader added that the routes given to traditional PUJs are "leftover" routes since all modes of public transport have been allowed by the LTFRB to resume its operations earlier.

"Nananatili ang ating tindig -- balik-pasada sa lahat ng ruta at para sa lahat ng yunit. Hindi kayang punuan ng iilang mga jeep ang kakulangan sa masasakyan ng komyuter at ang pagkalam ng sikmura ng mga drayber at opereytor, (Our stand remains -- to allow all routes and all units to resume operations. These numbers of approved units are not enough to augment the insufficient modes of public transportation for many commuters. It cannot fill the still empty stomach of our drivers and operators)," Floranda emphasized.

This was also the call of Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO) National President Efren De Luna who asked transport authorities to give all jeepneys the go signal to operate.

De Luna also slammed the requirements set by the LTFRB for PUJs before operating, such as the need for a QR Code as a marker that the unit is "roadworthy" and have been allowed to return on the road.

LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III already announced that traditional jeepneys that are roadworthy would be allowed to resume operations without the QR codes as the LTFRB website that will provide it is having technical troubles due to its migration to another server.

Roadworthy PUJs are allowed to operate without QR codes from Friday, July 3, to Sunday, July 5, the LTFRB clarified.

ADVERTISEMENT
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1561_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1562_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.most-popular .layout-ratio{ padding-bottom: 79.13%; } @media (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1024px) { .widget-title { font-size: 15px !important; } }

{{ articles_filter_1563_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}

{{ articles_filter_1564_widget.title }}

{{ item.title }}
.mb-article-details { position: relative; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview, .mb-article-details .article-body-summary{ font-size: 17px; line-height: 30px; font-family: "Libre Caslon Text", serif; color: #000; } .mb-article-details .article-body-preview iframe , .mb-article-details .article-body-summary iframe{ width: 100%; margin: auto; } .read-more-background { background: linear-gradient(180deg, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0) 13.75%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000 / 0.8) 30.79%, color(display-p3 1.000 1.000 1.000) 72.5%); position: absolute; height: 200px; width: 100%; bottom: 0; display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; padding: 0; } .read-more-background a{ color: #000; } .read-more-btn { padding: 17px 45px; font-family: Inter; font-weight: 700; font-size: 18px; line-height: 16px; text-align: center; vertical-align: middle; border: 1px solid black; background-color: white; } .hidden { display: none; }
function initializeAllSwipers() { // Get all hidden inputs with cms_article_id document.querySelectorAll('[id^="cms_article_id_"]').forEach(function (input) { const cmsArticleId = input.value; const articleSelector = '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .body_images'; const swiperElement = document.querySelector(articleSelector); if (swiperElement && !swiperElement.classList.contains('swiper-initialized')) { new Swiper(articleSelector, { loop: true, pagination: false, navigation: { nextEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-next', prevEl: '#article-' + cmsArticleId + ' .swiper-button-prev', }, }); } }); } setTimeout(initializeAllSwipers, 3000); const intersectionObserver = new IntersectionObserver( (entries) => { entries.forEach((entry) => { if (entry.isIntersecting) { const newUrl = entry.target.getAttribute("data-url"); if (newUrl) { history.pushState(null, null, newUrl); let article = entry.target; // Extract metadata const author = article.querySelector('.author-section').textContent.replace('By', '').trim(); const section = article.querySelector('.section-info ').textContent.replace(' ', ' '); const title = article.querySelector('.article-title h1').textContent; // Parse URL for Chartbeat path format const parsedUrl = new URL(newUrl, window.location.origin); const cleanUrl = parsedUrl.host + parsedUrl.pathname; // Update Chartbeat configuration if (typeof window._sf_async_config !== 'undefined') { window._sf_async_config.path = cleanUrl; window._sf_async_config.sections = section; window._sf_async_config.authors = author; } // Track virtual page view with Chartbeat if (typeof pSUPERFLY !== 'undefined' && typeof pSUPERFLY.virtualPage === 'function') { try { pSUPERFLY.virtualPage({ path: cleanUrl, title: title, sections: section, authors: author }); } catch (error) { console.error('ping error', error); } } // Optional: Update document title if (title && title !== document.title) { document.title = title; } } } }); }, { threshold: 0.1 } ); function showArticleBody(button) { const article = button.closest("article"); const summary = article.querySelector(".article-body-summary"); const body = article.querySelector(".article-body-preview"); const readMoreSection = article.querySelector(".read-more-background"); // Hide summary and read-more section summary.style.display = "none"; readMoreSection.style.display = "none"; // Show the full article body body.classList.remove("hidden"); } document.addEventListener("DOMContentLoaded", () => { let loadCount = 0; // Track how many times articles are loaded const offset = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]; // Offset values const currentUrl = window.location.pathname.substring(1); let isLoading = false; // Prevent multiple calls if (!currentUrl) { console.log("Current URL is invalid."); return; } const sentinel = document.getElementById("load-more-sentinel"); if (!sentinel) { console.log("Sentinel element not found."); return; } function isSentinelVisible() { const rect = sentinel.getBoundingClientRect(); return ( rect.top < window.innerHeight && rect.bottom >= 0 ); } function onScroll() { if (isLoading) return; if (isSentinelVisible()) { if (loadCount >= offset.length) { console.log("Maximum load attempts reached."); window.removeEventListener("scroll", onScroll); return; } isLoading = true; const currentOffset = offset[loadCount]; window.loadMoreItems().then(() => { let article = document.querySelector('#widget_1690 > div:nth-last-of-type(2) article'); intersectionObserver.observe(article) loadCount++; }).catch(error => { console.error("Error loading more items:", error); }).finally(() => { isLoading = false; }); } } window.addEventListener("scroll", onScroll); });
Join Our Newsletters

Sign up by email to receive news.

© 2025 Manila Bulletin The Nation's Leading Newspaper. All Rights Reserved.