LTO to Phase-out All Jeepneys in Metro Manila by December 2018

11/23/2014 – Manila |If you think two years is too short to remove all jeepneys inside Metro Manila you are wrong. LTO has finally decided to ban all jeepneys in Metro Manila starting December 2018. The resolution took 5 years to get approved by the Congress and Senate and had undergone a series of changes and modifications before it was finally passed last Friday.

The bill is expected to face major protest from PISTON, FEJODAP, and other transport associations but the agency is already prepared for the said incident.

The sudden change is also supported by the construction of two more LRT and MRT lines which will be started on May 2016. Additional two more lines will be added on 2019 according to the press release.

Erap’s banning of trucks is just the beginning of street cleaning according to LTO. Areas previously occupied by jeepney and far from LRT and MRT stations will be covered by tricycles according to the agency.

“The banning of jeepneys does not affect provinces. Jeepney is one of our National Symbols and should not be totally phased out. This is the only option we can do inside Metro Manila in order to continue daily business operations without facing traffic problems”, Atty. Arsenio Dimaculangan of LTO told reporters Friday morning.

Metro Manila traffic problem is one of the biggest problems the capital has been suffering for years. The effect is not just the residents of Manila but the whole country. One of the options is to transfer most of overseas cargo to Batangas Port but the plan has not been moving. This is also the reason why Mayor Estrada decided to tighten his grip on banning the trucks in order to tell the people who manage the ports that there’s really a problem.

The banning of jeepneys will affect only few drivers but has a great positive effect for the whole capital, LTO said. The agency is allocating P165M for drivers who want to buy new tricycles. The agency also offers assistance to operators in selling their old jeepneys to provinces outside Metro Manila.

Only taxis and buses will be allowed on main streets and bus terminals will be strictly controlled. LTO will have a formal press conference anytime next week according to press release.

See Also: NAIA T-1, World’s Worst Airport to Close: Bacolod-Silay International Airport to Open for International Flights

/Fanny Jalacjac/ Assisted Press Manila

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