By Rjay Zuriaga Castor
The alliance of transport cooperatives in Iloilo City has admitted to failing to submit their dispatching plans, resulting in passengers being stranded at major terminals across the city in recent weeks.
Rizal Alido, chairman of the Western Visayas Alliance of Transport Cooperatives and Corporations, Inc. (WVATCCI), told Daily Guardian that while some transport cooperatives have recently submitted their dispatching plans, others have yet to comply.
“Right now, there are still some who haven’t submitted, and we are reminding others to do so. We admit that we have been unable to fully comply with our dispatching system,” Alido said on Friday, August 16.
The WVATCCI convened a meeting on Tuesday with its 14 transport cooperative members to address the issue.
The Traffic and Transportation Management Office had earlier criticized the city’s transport cooperatives for failing to submit their dispatching plans, unlike those in the first or border towns, which had done so before the start of classes.
Passengers bound for Iloilo City have experienced long wait times in recent weeks, coinciding with the start of classes at both the basic education and tertiary levels.
Alido emphasized that all of their modernized units are operational, and the dispatching plan will help determine whether the consolidated traditional jeepneys of a cooperative are running, especially during peak hours.
“We must be serious about implementing our dispatching plan, as we need to keep a record of awarded units that operate on the streets from their start to end times in the evening,” he stressed.
“We have to monitor units closely, especially consolidated traditional jeepneys, since the modernized jeepney units are already compliant,” he added.
Alido urged transport cooperatives to strictly monitor their units and mandate traditional units to operate, given the influx of passengers traveling in and out of the city.
“If there are discrepancies, the cooperatives should immediately report them so we can augment the units that should be operating on those routes,” he added.
The WVATCCI head also called on the public to provide evidence regarding their complaints so they can request additional units from the city government and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board.
“We will ensure on Monday that this issue is addressed. If all the awarded units are operating, I believe we can ensure safe and convenient transport for commuters,” he emphasized.
The WVATCCI currently has 520 modernized units and 420 consolidated traditional units operating on city routes.
