March 28, 2024

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet – A total of 637 public utility jeepneys are  now allowed to ply the La Trinidad-Baguio City routes and vice versa through a rotational scheme per route.
The municipal government crafted the rotational plan per route scheme to give equal chance to drivers and operators to operate with the still controlled movement during the quarantine period due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
This also after the city government of Baguio allowed some PUJs to ply the Bokawkan route on a drop, pick, and go basis (express).
During the earlier imposition of the general community quarantine, the city government allowed staging areas for PUJs coming from La Trinidad at the Slaughterhouse terminal along Magsaysay Avenue only.
Engr. Vicente Perez,  Municipal Planning and Development Office head and in charge of the rotational plan, said  PUJs plying Bokawkan are only allowed to pass until the traffic lights area fronting the  PLDT building and do a u-turn after at the designated slot through a drop, pick and go scheme.
PUJs allowed to ply for the day are determined through color-coded stickers or through odd and even day scheme. Only those with Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) permits are allowed to ply their routes, Perez said.  
PUJs with routes Motorpool via Buyagan, Motorpool via Pico, Shilan and Swamp View via Pico follow rotational trips through color coded stickers. Those with yellow stickers are allowed to travel Monday and Tuesday, green stickers on Wednesday and Thursday, and red on Friday and Saturday trips.
For Balili and Pine Breeze-Pico routes, those with yellow and green stickers can travel during odd days while red and green stickers on even days.
For Ambiong route, rotation will be regulated and monitored by the concerned PUJ association in the area with six units running per day for the 24 units issued with LTFRB permits, said Perez.
For the Central Beckel route, rotation will be on an odd and even day scheme for the 12 LTFRB units approved with six PUJ units to travel per day.
The designated staging area for Beckel PUJs will be at Marcoville and Ambiong PUJs at Bayan Park.
For the Bakong, Beckel; Lamut, Beckel; and Balukas-Shilan routes, PUJs with LTFRB issued permits will have daily trips at six units, five units, and two units, respectively.
Perez said PUJs plying within the La Trinidad, except for the Pines Park-Lubas-Tawang routes following odd and even day scheme, are allowed to operate on a daily basis except on Sundays.
All PUJ special permits for intra routes issued by the local government are no longer honored except for the 44 units issued with LTFRB permits. They are only allowed to operate from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m.
The  rotational plan will also ease the difficulty of passengers  waiting  for rides  in  going to work, banks,  and offices, or in buying essential needs. – Susan C. Aro