At least 20 manufacturers and dealers of vehicles that are compliant with the Public Utility Vehicle (PUV) modernization program of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) will be in Central Visayas next month to showcase different classes and brands of modern vehicles.

Retired Col. Eduardo Montealto Jr., regional director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), on Monday said the Modern PUV Caravan will hold three separate events in Dumaguete, Cebu and Tagbilaran and will be opened to all existing transport operators, cooperatives and corporations.

“There will be at least 20 manufacturers, along with their dealers, who will come to Dumaguete, Cebu, and Tagbilaran for one-day Modern PUV Caravan in each city,” Montealto said in an interview with the Philippine News Agency (PNA).

Montealto said the caravan will start on Nov. 5 in Dumaguete City after which the manufacturers and dealers will go to Cebu on Nov. 8 for the Cebu leg, and will culminate on Nov. 12 in Tagbilaran City.

The Cebu leg of the caravan will be held in SM Seaside at the South Road Properties, he said.

“Transport coops and corporations are welcome to attend and meet top manufacturers and dealers of modern PUVs that are compliant with the standards set forth by the DOTr under the PUV modernization program,” Montealto said.

Different brands and classes of vehicles will be showcased, he said, adding that cooperatives and corporations who are joining the program modernizing public transportation are allowed to negotiate on-site with the manufacturers and dealers, as well as to place orders.

“You don’t need to go elsewhere. They will be here to present to the transport players a wide array of brands and classes,” Montealto added.

According to him, the country needs around 200,000 modern PUVs to cope with the government efforts to modernize public utility vehicles. Of the number, around 11,000 will be in Central Visayas, with 8,000 of them to be for Cebu routes.

Modernized jeepneys have to use at least a Euro 4 engine, with person with disability (PWD) and elderly-friendly measurements and must carry comfortable equipment and safety gadgets.

Under the PUV modernization, transport operators — either a cooperative or a corporation — are obliged to observe fleet management system to ensure roadworthiness of the units.

Montealto said the new units will be equipped with a computerized fare system with every passenger needed to tap his card to pay the fare. The system, he added, would also ensure an automatic recording of the collected fare, the percentage for the seven-year amortization of each unit, and the automatic debiting of the driver’s salary for the day and the net profit of the day.

“A passenger will have a mobile app (application) to monitor schedules of the jeepney or the bus to reserve a seat after paying the fare via online,” he said.

In Metro Cebu, there are 40 units of Beep (bus jeepney) plying the IT Park to Cebu City Hall route, 100 solar PUJs in Lapu-Lapu City, and 110 point-to-point buses from Cebu to Danao, Cebu to Sibonga, and Cebu to Lapu-Lapu. In Bohol, there are 20 units solar PUJ plying the Panglao route.

The units were equipped with global positioning system (GPS), Wi-Fi, dashcam, and automatic fare collection system, among others.

Montealto also said around 500 units of Premium Taxi will be deployed in the region, as part of the program.

In June 2017, DOTr issued Department Order 2017-011 or the Omnibus Guidelines on the Planning and Identification of Public Road Transportation Services and Franchise Issuance or the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), a flagship program of the Duterte administration which envisions a restructured, modern, well-managed and environmentally sustainable transport sector where drivers and operators have stable, sufficient and dignified livelihoods while commuters get to their destinations quickly, safely and comfortably.

The program, dubbed as “Modern PUV Caravan,” kicked off on July 4 at the Bayanihan Park in Clark, Pampanga.

The caravan is a joint undertaking of the DoTr, LTFRB, Land Transportation Office and the Office of Transportation Cooperatives in cooperation with the Development Bank of the Philippines, Land Bank of the Philippines, various industry associations and vehicle manufacturers. (PNA)