The iconic jeepney public transport vehicles represent the Philippines, but minibus company owner Freddie Hernandez is supporting efforts to get them off the roads.
It was one in every of the primary carriers to comply with government directives geared toward regularly replacing valued but outdated industrial vehicles with safer and greener buses.
“We have seen the benefits of upgrading our units in terms of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Hernandez, president of the transportation services cooperative in Metro Manila, an urban cluster of 16 cities.
“Society will ultimately benefit too if the environment benefits.”
But other public transportation executives say this system is overcharging them and can put 61,000 conventional jeepney drivers out of labor because the deadline to update the fleet approaches.
After World War II, abandoned American military jeeps were converted into mini jeepney trucks, which the Filipinos later replicated to satisfy Manila’s transportation needs.
The hottest type of public transport within the country is the open-air minibus, also often called “Kings of the Road”, which is roofed in colourful decorations, pictures and inscriptions.
However, a 2018 study by the National Center for Transportation Studies on the University of the Philippines found them to be a major source of pollution, accounting for nearly half of airborne particulate matter within the metro Manila area.
In 2017, the transport ministry ordered jeepneys older than 15 years to get replaced with newer models imported from nearby Asian countries similar to China and Japan.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the federal government initially set a deadline of March 2020, but on February 21 stated that operators must comply by June 30 or risk losing their operating licenses.
Trucking corporations have encouraged officials to reconsider their plans because they are saying this system is putting them in debt because of large loans and maintenance problems.
The organization implementing this system, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), said it was helping jeepney owners with subsidies for brand spanking new cars. He claimed that those that gave up their transport licenses would receive “social support” similar to free training and other employment opportunities.
Additionally, the agency said it’s asking government agencies to expedite loan approvals.
Hernandez said that despite supporting the plan, his co-op is unable to cover the prices of the upgrades as they struggle with declining ridership because of the pandemic and high gas prices.
Source: Reuters.com
