The town of Alburquerque is the latest local government unit (LGU) in Bohol that completed the route plan aligned with the public utility vehicle (PUV) modernization program, a transport official said on Thursday.

Eduardo Montealto Jr., regional director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-Central Visayas, said Alburquerque was awarded on May 16 the first-ever special notice of compliance, which means that the locality has completed its route plan and the modern PUVs can now be deployed.

After completing the route plan, Montealto said the municipality will pass its local public transport rationalization plan through an ordinance.

“The full support of the municipality and the commitment of its Municipal Planning and Development Office team has led to a remarkable milestone in their active participation in the call for public transport modernization,” Montealto told the Philippine News Agency.

Central Visayas has 116 municipalities and 16 cities.

Montealto said 86 percent of all the 132 localities in the region have submitted route plans for evaluation.

“But only eight applications for route plans were approved, the latest is Alburquerque, while the remaining applications were returned for revisions,” he added. (PNA)