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SOME Traditional Public Service Jeepneys (TPUJs) may resume touring the streets of Cebu City on Friday, November 20, 2020, as soon as drivers meet the requirements and their units pass inspection.
Cebu City Councilman James Anthony Cuenco, who chairs the city’s Jeepney Task Force, said staff from the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will begin inspect drives and drivers compliance on Friday.
Each TPUJ unit will be reviewed to see if it is in a position to circulate, installation of barriers and a mailbox for the fee, provision of disinfectant and display of a poster with health protocols. Each unit must also undergo an emissions test.
Each inspection is expected to last about 45 minutes. The single window is considered to process up to 100 units of TPUJ per day.
Only after inspection of the units and submission of requirements, such as a positive swab test result and a certificate from the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO), will a TPUJ be allowed to resume operations .
However, as of Wednesday, November 18, the Central Visayas Department of Health (DOH 7) has not released the results of the pooled swab tests that its staff performed on hundreds of drivers.
One-stop shop hours
On Friday, Cuenco said the TPUJs on the Guadalupe and Lahug routes will have priority for inspection because they have the highest volume of passengers.
For the Guadalupe-Carbon route, Cuenco said that so far only about 40 drivers have registered for the inspection.
He said this could be because some drivers are not sure their units will pass inspection.
The hours for the other routes are: nov. 23 for Labangon; Nov. 24 for Basak Pardo-Bulacao; Nov. 25 for Mambaling and Inayawan; and nov. 26 for Talamban and Pit-os.
Those who fail the initial inspection can attempt to complete the requirements and undergo another inspection on November 27.
Even after a unit is inspected and other requirements are met, Cuenco said the driver would not be allowed to resume operations without the results of the DOH 7 pooled tests.
DOH 7 began conducting pooled smear tests for coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) on October 16.
Special permission
CCTO Deputy Director of Operations Paul Gotiong said that once a unit passes inspection, the LTFRB will issue a special permit and the CCTO will issue the travel line.
An identification card will be issued to drivers after they have a negative swab test result and attend a seminar to be conducted by the CCTO.
Gotiong said the seminar began on November 12. Up to 40 drivers per seminar are expected to attend.
Cuenco said TPUJ’s operations will be allowed to gradually resume so that necessary adjustments can be made immediately.
He said drivers must “religiously follow” health protocols, such as wearing masks and face shields, observing physical distancing and supplying disinfectant.
He said marshalls will be deployed on the different routes to monitor and ensure that the TPUJs are observing health protocols.
Warning
Driver units that violate the guidelines will be suspended.
Cuenco also warned that the Balik Pasada program may be suspended in the event of an increase in new coronavirus infections that could be attributed to TPUJ operations.
“Simbako (God forbid), if we experience a considerably high number of infections, then we will be forced, through the mayor, to suspend the deployment,” he said.
“We will return to the starting point. Our efforts will be in vain, “he added.
Cuenco said the Cebu City government will consider allowing the TPUJ to enter from other local government units such as Talisay City in the south and Mandaue City in the north only after the TPUJs in Cebu City have resumed operations.
The LTFRB Central Visayas previously allowed 1,720 TPUJ units to resume operations in Cebu City in an attempt to address the lack of public transportation units serving the growing number of people who have returned to work amid the easing of services. quarantine restrictions.
Once entry to TPUJs from other LGUs is allowed, drivers must follow the rules set by the Cebu city government, Cuenco said.
Police deployment
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) will deploy additional personnel from the Police Traffic Unit to ensure physical distancing and compliance with other health protocols in the TPUJ.
Police Lt. Col. Wilbert Parilla, deputy director of the CCPO, said they will strictly implement health protocols and recommend the immediate suspension of units whose drivers do not comply.
He urged all TPUJ drivers to comply with all documentary requirements and ensure that their units pass inspection.
He warned that traffic cops will confiscate the driver’s license and issue a temporary operator’s permit (TOP) in case of violations.
He stressed that the public should not be complacent. (PAC / JJL / AYB)
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