Thirty more modern jeepneys for six routes have arrived here as part of the government’s Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP).

As of Tuesday, modern jeeps here has reached 203, including the existing 173 plying various routes since last year.

Councilor Psyche Marie Sy, who represented Mayor Alfredo Abelardo during the launch and blessing rites, said the city fully supports initiatives to pursue jeepney modernization.

“It is great to see more modernized jeepneys on the road. It’s time for Bacolod, a highly urbanized city, to be a model for clean and efficient transportation,” she added.

In a report on Tuesday, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) PUVMP Regional Project Management Office-Western Visayas (Region 6) said the new units were turned over on Monday to the United Negros Transport Cooperative (UNETCO), which has obtained 97 units of Class 2 FAW modernized PUVs, but is still awaiting the arrival of the 67 other units.

LTFRB-6 Regional Director Richard Osmeña said the launch of the modern jeepneys “delivers a strong signal of courage and decisiveness of those who opted to take the challenge of public transport”.

The six routes in the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) awarded to UNETCO include the Shopping-Libertad- USLS loop, 16 units; Shopping-Libertad-San Agustin and Handumanan-Mansilingan-Libertad routes, 18 units each; Tangub-South Capitol Road, Taculing-Central, and Banago-Libertad loops, 15 units each.

Initially, five units have been distributed to each of the six awarded routes, which are set to hold a dry-run this week.

Under the PUVMP, the LTFRB has awarded a total of 1,099 modern jeepneys to Bacolod, and the initial 173 units have been deployed to nine routes.

The LPTRP has identified 25 routes in the city. (PNA)