By Mariela Angella Oladive
The Iloilo Provincial Government, spearheaded by the Provincial Planning and Development Office (PPDO), launched a comprehensive transport simulation exercise across the province on February 15.
This pivotal initiative is designed to refine the province’s Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) by testing routes and determining optimal fleet sizes, marking an essential step in improving the region’s public transport system.
PPDO Chief Mario Nillos orchestrated the beginning of the exercise with the implementation of the ALEOSAN (Alimodian, Leon, and San Miguel) routes to Iloilo City.
These routes were meticulously chosen for monitoring during typical and peak traffic conditions to ensure a thorough evaluation.
“Kon ano ang demand and supply sang transport. Sa demand – ti amo na ang kinahanglan sang mga pasahero nga public utility vehicles. While ang supply amo na ang maprovide sang transport cooperatives sa riding public as provided for in the franchise. So, ang aton purpose sini is to determine the actual situation,” explained Nillos, highlighting the significance of the activity.
The launch of the simulation marks a collaborative effort by the provincial government to involve the community and encourage their input in fine-tuning the transportation framework.
By organizing routes into clusters and assigning field technical teams, the province is methodically collecting data that will guide future decisions about route optimization and fleet distribution.
The focus of the exercise is on closely observing the operation of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to evaluate passenger load, verify the sufficiency of the fleet, and assess the efficacy of operations.
Although the initial emphasis is on the “first town” jeepneys, which include the towns of Leganes, Pavia, Santa Barbara, Oton, and San Miguel, the scope of the simulation is far-reaching, extending to all routes servicing the province’s 42 towns and Passi City.
The comprehensive simulation exercise is set to wrap up on March 30.
