Unconsolidated PUJs can ply select routes until Jan. 31

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) has allowed unconsolidated public utility vehicles (PUVs) to continue plying select routes for a month after the Dec. 31 deadline.

- ROMINA CABRERA

Under new guidelines, the LTFRB allowed unconsolidated individual operators to operate until Jan. 31, but a show-cause order will be issued against them for failure to comply with the consolidation requirement.

The LTFRB issued memorandum circular 2023-052 on Dec. 22, which it said will ensure adequate supply of public transport on affected routes following the consolidation.

Consolidated transportation service entities (TSE) can continue to operate under their existing provisional authorities until December 2024 until the issuance of their franchises.

The TSEs will have their certificate of public convenience or franchises valid for seven years if they have compliant units in their fleet while those that do not have brand new units shall have a validity of five years.

The board said that the provisional authority and franchise of individual operators in routes that have more than a 60 percent consolidation rate shall be revoked and they will no longer be allowed to operate.

The LTFRB will only allow unconsolidated units to continue operations in some areas, but only for routes with less than 60 percent rate or those with no consolidated TSEs.

The LTFRB said that operators who failed to file an application for consolidation before the deadline will no longer be allowed to organize into an entity or join existing cooperatives.

Under the guidelines that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) issued in 2017, PUV operators and drivers must form transport cooperatives or similar legal entities so they could join the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

Data from the LTFRB showed that around 70,000 PUVs have not consolidated and could have their provisional authority or certificate of public convenience revoked on Jan. 1.

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