Our old jeepneys – time to move on
Credit to Author: Tempo Desk| Date: Fri, 04 Oct 2019 17:00:15 +0000
JEEPNEY operators should be resigned by now to the inevitability of the phase-out of their old units by July, 2020. They staged another jeepney strike last Monday but, despite some claims of its success, it did not appear to have caused much disruption in the daily work schedule of Metro Manilans.
Part of the reason was the government’s preemptive action of suspending classes. Other public transport systems also were able to make up for the usual services of jeepneys.
It has been two years since the Department of Transportation announced the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program. Vehicle modernization was only one of its components. Another was a new system for the issuance of new franchises, devolving the function of route planning to local governments, as they are deemed to be more knowledgeable about local roads and passenger demand than the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
But the principal part of the program is the phase-out of old jeepneys, some of which date back to the Liberation period as they were originally based on the American Armed Forces jeep. The jeepneys will now be replaced with vehicles with either Euro-diesel engines or electric motors, to provide safer travel while helping to mitigate the ill effects of climate change. One study reportedly found that an old jeepney ran about two kilometers per liter of diesel, while newer engines can make 12 to 14 kilometers on the same amount of fuel.
The major complaint of jeepney operators was the cost; the new units would cost P1.2 to P1.8 million each but operators have been offered se
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