Drive to remove old, smoke-belching PUVs starts

January 8, 2018

Transport officials flagged down smoke-belching and decrepit public utility vehicles along Marcos Highway and Dona Carmen along Commonwealth, Quezon City on Monday as part of a government drive to modernize public transport.

Personnel of the Inter-Agency Council on Traffic (I-ACT) cited a total of 123 PUVs were cited for smoke belching violation while 130 were flagged down and issued tickets for defective parts and accessories.  Two PUV drivers were also cited for not wearing the prescribed uniform, the Department of Transportation ( DOTr) said in a statement Monday.

DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Tim Orbos said “We give them 24 hours upon the issuance of the violation ticket to surrender their PUVs for evaluation of its road worthiness before they are allowed to resume their operation.”

Those PUVs issued with the violation tickets should surrender to the Land Transportation Office (LTO) and undergo motor vehicle inspection. The LTO has two refurbished and operating motor vehicle inspection systems (MVIS) lanes its main office in East Avenue, Quezon City and two more MVIS lanes in LTO Pasay City.

MVIS are used in evaluating the road worthiness of PUVs  undergoing registration and those caught on road due to smoke belching or having broken wipers among other violations.

Aside from LTO, DOTr, and MMDA, other members of I-ACT are the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the Philippine National Police-Highway Patrol Group (PNP-HPG). DMS