The Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have rolled out an innovative monitoring system to track trips and even violations of public utility vehicles (PUVs) in real-time.

During the launching on Friday, Sept. 17, LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III said the Central PUV Monitoring System (CPUVMS) is the agency's "first and most modern system with real-time monitoring of each trip, speed, estimated time of arrival (ETA), and the number of running PUVs in a specific time and route."

Enabled by a global positioning system or GPS, Delgra said the LTFRB Command Center can also track possible road violations of the PUVs such as being out of line, over dwelling, overspeeding, or even being a colorum.

"This is a milestone for the Board kasi kauna-unahang proyekto ito kung saan gumagamit po tayo ng panibago at mordernong teknolohiya in order to address monitoring and enforcement activities of the Board (this is the first project powered by modern technology to address monitoring and enforcement activities of the Board)," he added.

According to Delgra, the CPUVMS is currently being used in the first phase of the Service Contracting Program where the Central PUV Monitoring Station monitors the flow of public utility buses traveling on the EDSA Carousel route.

Once fully operational, Phase 2 will be implemented for city buses; Phase 3 for provincial buses; and Phase 4 for PUVs at the Regional Franchising and Regulatory Offices (RFRO).

For his part, DOTr Secretary Arthur P. Tugade emphasized the role of technology to ensure the safety of the public especially now in the time of pandemic.

Through this, Tugade said various services offered by the agency will be more efficient, safe, and reliable.

"Sa ating recovery efforts ngayong panahon ng krisis, malaki po ang papel na ginagampanan ng technology at digitization. Mas itinataguyod ng digitization ang safety ng mga tao (Technology and digitization play a big role in our recovery efforts during this time of crisis. Digitization further promotes the safety of the public)," the transport chief explained.

"Dahil po dito, nalilimitahan ang human intervention at mas napapabilis ang serbisyo ng ating mga frontline services sa sektor ng transportation (It limits human intervention, while expediting the service of our frontline workers in the transportation sector)," Tugade added.