CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY – A transport cooperative here launched 10 additional modern jeepney units on Saturday, September 30.

THE PN Roa Canitoan Transport Cooperative (Pontransco) launched 10 new modern jeeneys at the Amphitheater in Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City, on Saturday, September 30. (Franck Dick Rosete)

The PN Roa Canitoan Transport Cooperative (Pontransco) said these will serve the Barangay Bayabas-to-Cogon Public Market and vice versa route.

Each jeepney can seat 20 passengers and accomodate five standing passengers.

Pontransco Manager Luzminda Escobidal said the Barangay Bayabas-to-Cogon Public Market route is their second after the PN Roa Calaanan-Relocation-Cogon Public Market and vice versa.

They are also planning to operate more units on other routes, including Barangays Bonbon and Bulua and other routes in Bayabas, Balulang, and Sitio Macanhan in Barangay Carmen.

“Of course, we will be able to encounter issues and concerns about the route we take, especially if it’s new. So, we still need to observe the flow of this before we can add additional units,” Escobidal said.

LAND Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Region 10 Director Aminoden Guro (left) introduces the guest honor and speaker during the blessing and launching of 10 modern Pontransco jeepneys at the Amphitheater in Divisoria, Cagayan de Oro City, on Saturday, September 30. (Franck Dick Rosete)

After the blessing and launching, the cooperative showcased their unique tracking system, which was customized by Escobidal herself in collaboration with partners PLDT and Filipay, that involves automated fare collection and a fleet management system to address their needs.

Every unit of Pontransco has a people-counting camera linked to their command center. This camera allows the cooperative to track the number of passengers and can also be used to match the drivers’ report to avoid any discrepancies and monitor their daily income.

The system aims to address challenges in management, which can provide easy access and monitoring to the increasing number of modernized PUJ units.

Escobidal said “pilferage” is one of the problems encountered by the cooperatives, saying that a cooperative could be bankrupt if there were more of this, as drivers may possibly not declare in their daily reports the number of passengers who take their PUJs outside their terminals, especially those passengers who are picked up on the streets.

This was the reason why she asked Filipay to customize the system with his own idea by having people-counting cameras.

“We tolerate them sometimes when they get some (from their earnings) for snacks, and that is okay. But if they pocketed too much, it’s not good anymore,” Escobidal said, adding that their backload went up when they implemented the people counting camera last July.

There are many transport cooperatives here operating modern jeepneys on various streets.

A FILIPAY representative discusses the functions of Pontransco’s automated fare collection system after the blessing and launching ceremony of 10 modern jeepneys on Saturday, September 30. (Franck Dick Rosete)

However, Pontransco, Escobidal said, is the first cooperative, not just in Cagayan de Oro but in the entire Philippines, to adopt the system, and this was echoed by a PLDT representative during the event.

The cooperative, with 11 consolidated franchises, now operates a total of 30 modernized PUJs in this city.

Escobidal, when asked if they could serve 24 hours to address the illegal existence of “bao-bao” (tricab) vehicles that operate as public transport, said they are unable to serve beyond 11 p.m. because it would be a disadvantage to the cooperative considering the number of passengers during that time.