An advocacy group on Wednesday urged the Department of Transportation and its attached agency, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to immediately release their route rationalization plan (RRP).
The Passenger Forum (TPF) led by Primo Morillo said “there are a lot of things dependent on this rationalization plan. We understand that they need to carefully study how to make our public transportation more efficient and effective in moving passengers but we want to know what is taking them so long.”
Other transport organizations have already communicated with TPF regarding the release of the said government plan,” Morillo said.
“Some transport cooperatives that subscribed to the DOTr’s modernization plan are waiting for the release of the RRP as this is a requirement for them to acquire their modern jeepneys. They are now waiting for about two years and nothing is happening,” he added.
The RRP must be released for the scrutiny of the public and the other stakeholders, he pointed out.
Manila Standard tried to get a reaction from the LTFRB, to no avail.
“We want the plan to be released not because we will accept it as it is, but because we have to check how responsive it is to the situation of commuters and the transport crisis happening now,” Morillo said.
“We want to know how they plan to cover unserved and underserved areas, how interconnected the routes and transport modes will be, and how this will help start the shift from a car-centric policy environment to a commuter-centered transport system. We hope the DOTr will be consultative in its process,” the TPF leader clarified.