Negros transport groups rally against World Bank-DOTr jeepney modernization plan

Representatives of three transport coalitions in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City, together covering more than 3,000 traditional jeepney drivers, intensified protests against the World Bank-backed Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP) during a five-day electric-vehicle summit. The groups - BACODNO-MANIBELA, Kabakod Negros Transport Coalition (KNETCO) and United Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC-PISTON) - condemned a recent World Bank-DOTr dialogue as a staged effort to push the scheme, which would replace three aging jeepneys with a single Euro-4L-compliant modern unit and potentially consign many vehicles to a scrapping center.

They highlighted the high cost of the new units (P3-4 million) and the lack of a feasibility study, calling for legal challenges and urging Mayor Greg Gasataya to mediate. LTFRB regional director Gerry Llena disputed the scrapping claim, noting regulations prevent wholesale removal of units. The protest follows earlier financial troubles of the prior PUVMP, which left many modernized jeepneys at risk of repossession by Landbank and DBP.