By Tyrone Jasper C. Piad, Inquirer Business
While thousands of jeepney drivers have returned to the roads, a transport group said these may not still be enough to meet heightened demand for public transportation as in-person classes return next week.
National president of Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) Mody Floranda, as such, called on the government to open more routes for jeepney operators and other modalities of public transportation.
Floranda, in an interview with the Inquirer, said about 55,000 drivers in the National Capital Region were able to ply over 500 routes again following the series of oil price rollbacks. Metro Manila now sees 74,000 traditional jeepneys servicing daily commuters, he said.
“Slowly, more drivers have started going back to work,” he said in Filipino.
To recall, the surge in oil prices amid the supply chain disruptions brought about by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine resulted in the exodus of public transport workers as they were not earning enough money.
Fuel prices started declining again beginning July. On Tuesday, petroleum product prices were cut for the second straight week.
The price rollbacks, along with more mobility and minimum fare hike to P11, have helped jeepney drivers pocket more profits at the end of the day. Floranda said they have doubled their daily earnings to about P400 to P500 recently from just P200 to P300 in February to April.
Call for more franchises
Apart from opening more routes, the Piston official also called on the government to grant additional franchises to jeepney operators, reiterating that the current increase in vehicles servicing the passenger would not be able to address the expected demand.
About 27.56 million students and 876,000 teachers are seen going back to schools with the resumption of in-person classes on Aug. 22, the Department of Education said earlier.
The Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board is set to conduct consultations with concerned agencies this week to evaluate the existing routes and look at “possible modification, reopening, retention, etc.”
The regulator also recently allowed the school transport services to resume operations, citing health protocols and guidelines in doing so.
The Light Rail Transit (LRT) authority, meanwhile, aims to service about 2.2 million students in LRT 2 for its Libreng Sakay Program from Aug. 22 to Nov. 5.
Earlier, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said it was eyeing a fleet rationalization scheme, which would allow the government to seek alternative or additional routes vis-a-vis the number of public vehicles on the road.
The DOTr assured last month that the public transportation could handle the expected 15-percent passenger increase with the return of in-person classes.
