Gov’t begins crackdown on unconsolidated PUVs

FILE: Colorful jeepneys stop along Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City to pick up passengers on Tuesday morning (Feb. 7, 2023). The Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board has extended the validity of the provisional authority of traditional jeepneys – set to end in March – which means that they get to keep their routes amid the PUV modernization program. (PNA photo by Joey O. Razon)

MANILA – Traffic enforcers will begin their crackdown against unconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUV) on Thursday following a 15-day grace period since the deadline of the consolidation deadline on April 30.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said enforcers from the Land Transportation Office (LTO), Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), and the Philippine National Police (PNP) would flag down PUVs to check for their compliance.

“Authorities will check the serial number on the document issued by the LTFRB displayed on their jeepneys,” the LTFRB said in a statement.

Reconsolidated jeepneys are reminded to display their franchise documents on their dashboard or windshield to avoid apprehension.

“Apprehended PUVs may result in a one-year suspension for the driver, a PHP50,000 fine for the operator, and the vehicle will be impounded for 30 days,” it said.

Following the end of the consolidation period for PUVs in April, the Department of Transportation said around 80 percent of PUVs were estimated to have complied with the consolidation requirement of the Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP).

The final data for consolidated PUVs are still being processed by the LTFRB.

Consolidation is one of the stages of the government’s PTMP that seeks to overhaul the country’s transport sector.

The next stages in the PTMP are route rationalization or the assignment of transport routes, fleet management or controlling the number of operational PUVs at any given time, and the replacement of old PUVs with modern counterparts equipped with Euro 4-compliant engines, modern amenities, and safety features.