Not all old and traditional jeepneys will be stopped from plying the streets after the Dec. 31 deadline for joining a cooperative or corporation under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program, the government clarified Wednesday.
At a news conference in Quezon City, Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board member Mercy Jane Paras-Leynes said phasing out all old jeeps “is fake information.”
She noted that “disinformation” had spread that all iconic jeepneys would be banned from the roads starting Jan. 1, 2024.
Paras-Leynes stressed that individual operators may continue to operate by virtue of a provisional authority beyond the Dec. 31 deadline.
“Upon their provisional authority’s expiration, these operators should have already joined a consolidated entity,” she told reporters.
The LTFRB officer warned those who refuse to do so “shall be dealt with accordingly.”
The government would be left with no other option but to tow and impound “colorum” and traditional jeepneys of violating operators, she said.