METROPOLITAN Manila Development Authority Acting Chairman Don Artes said the major transport group PISTON failed to reach their objective on the first day of their three-day “Tigil Pasada.”

Artes said it looked like a normal Monday.

“We think that it might be just normal Monday morning rush hour foot traffoc,” he said, noting that the agency doesn’t want to have a build-up of stranded passengers hence the immediate deploymet of prepositioned assets.

Artes said the MMDA had readied 686 service vehicles.

As of 1:53 p.m. the agency had dispatched 74 vehicles which served 1,815 commuters.

Although he downplayed the impact of the first day of the transport strike, Artes said the MMDA and other agencies will continue to monitor the situation until the last day of the strike.

“We are ready for the three-day strike and we will respond depending on the situation,” he said.

Artes added that the agency will assess the volume of traffic prior to the decision whether the number coding scheme will be suspended again today.

Meanwhile, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is still open to discuss with jeepney operators their requests to extend the validity of their franchise to five years as long as they consolidate into a cooperative to comply with the public utility vehicle modernization program (PUVMP).

In a media briefing yesterday, LTFRB chair Teofilo Guadiz III said the agency will discuss with members of transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operators Nationwide (Piston) their concerns about the program such as consolidation, franchise validity term and complying with requirements.

“Sa ngayon kasi binibigyan lang namin sila ng provisional authority na one year para i-timing po namin ito sa modernization program. But the moment na sumali sila sa modernization program pwede pa rin naman po namin ibigay ‘yung five years na hinihingi nila,” Guadiz said.

PUV operators should consolidate into a cooperative by Dec. 31, 2023 as it will be a requirement for vehicle registration next year.

“Ako po ay umaasa na sana po ay mapagbigyan din tayo ng Piston na mag-usap at tingnan namin ‘yung mga areas na pwede namin silang pagbigyan, ‘yung mga areas na pwedeng ayusin. My office is open po sa mga request nila, ang usapan lang ay alin po don ang kailangan ng konting panahon,” Guadiz said.

Piston is holding a three-day transport strike to protest the government’s PUVMP until Wednesday to protest the consolidation requirement of the program as well as other recently proposed amendments to the Omnibus Franchising Guidelines.

Guadiz said about 60 percent of PUVs have complied with consolidation policy under the program.

“We expect at least 85 to 90 percent until December 31 since we already simplified ‘yung mga proseso po sa pag ordinance/organize ng isa pong kooperatiba,” he said.

Guadiz said the preliminary step toward modernization is forming a cooperative, clarifying that operators may choose not to buy a new unit.

“So as long na your jeep is working, pasado po ‘yan sa LTO pwede pumasa ‘yan.

“From the time po na mag-consolidate sila o bumuo po sila ng isang kooperatiba, pwede pa ho silang pumasada hanggang sa ang LTO ang magsabi na hindi na pwede ang sasakyan nila,” Guadiz said.