DOTr eyes revocation of inactive PUV franchises in Commonwealth, QC

Transportation Acting Secretary Giovanni Lopez said Tuesday that more than 3,900 franchises for public utility vehicles plying  the Commonwealth Avenue in Quezon City have been issued but only a fraction of them are actually operating.

In an interview on Super Radyo dzBB, Lopez said that thousands of franchises remain idle, prompting the DOTr to order last week a manual audit and possible revocation of unused permits.

“Ang binigay nilang datos po sa akin is 3,973. So sabi ko kung 3,973 kahit tumayo ka dito buong araw, bakit di po umaabot na 1,000 dito ng pampublikong sasakyan,” Lopez said.

(The data they gave me showed 3,973 franchises. So I asked, if there are 3,973, why is it that even if you stand here the whole day, you won’t see even 1,000 public vehicles operating?)

He added that operators who are not deploying their units may lose their franchises.

“Nagbigay po ako ng kautusan sa kanila last Wednesday sabi ko i-manual audit n'yo na, tignan n'yo ang sasakyan na may prangkisa na hindi operational, i-show cause n'yo ang may-ari at kung kailangan i-revoke, i-revoke n'yo na kasi mukha naman hindi sila interesado para maibigay natin ang mga prangkisa sa iba,” he said.

(I ordered them last Wednesday to conduct a manual audit, check which vehicles with franchises are not operational, issue show cause orders to the owners, and revoke their franchises if necessary so we can give them to others who are interested.)

The transport chief said the audit must be completed within a week.

Recalibration of routes

While 3,973 franchises have been issued, Lopez explained that these are spread across different routes — not concentrated in one corridor. Deploying all units in the same area could worsen traffic, he said.

“All the way sa Quezon Avenue is 3,973. Pero hindi isang ruta lang po lahat 'yan. At tama din kayo kapag ganyan karami ang nilagay o binigyan at 'yan actually deployed ay makakatraffic po talaga tayo. So we have to recalibrate again,” Lopez explained.

(There are 3,973 franchises all the way to Quezon Avenue, but they are not all in one route. And you’re right — if that many are deployed in one place, traffic will worsen. So we have to recalibrate again.) 

He added that excess units could be reassigned to other areas with greater commuter demand.

“Kung susobra man 'yan, we have to basically, sabi ko nga pwede namin reallocate sa ibang lugar. Ganoon ang mga ruta,” he added.

(If there’s an oversupply, we can reallocate them to other areas. That’s how route assignments work.)

Inter-agency approach

Lopez also noted that the DOTr is working closely with other agencies like the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) to address traffic and commuter woes through an inter-agency approach.

A pilot project is underway along Commonwealth Avenue, one of the capital’s most congested thoroughfares.

“Ginawa namin 'yan as pilot itong Commonwealth natin… kasi alam naman natin napakahirap araw-araw ang pagbabiyahi sa Commonwealth, mas lalo sa ating commuters,” Lopez said.

(We chose Commonwealth as our pilot area because we all know how difficult commuting is there every day, especially for our commuters.)

The DOTr plans to replicate the system in other parts of Metro Manila, such as Pasig, where traffic congestion and long commuter lines remain a challenge.

“Ang LTFRB ngayon inutusan natin na mag-identify na rin sila ng mga ibang lugar. Ang alam ko susunod natin ang Pasig rin kasi alam ko may hirap rin at malala na rin ang traffic diyan,” Lopez added.

(We’ve ordered the LTFRB to identify other areas. I know Pasig will be next because traffic there is also heavy and commuter lines are long.) —AOL, GMA Integrated News