Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Teofilo Guadiz III announced they will be offering free rides for commuters when transport group Piston starts their three-day strike over the government's modernization of public utility vehicles on Monday,

In a press briefing on Thursday, Guadiz said they estimated that around eight to 12 routes in Metro Manila will be hit by the strike. He did not disclose these.

“There are eight to 12 routes that could possibly be impacted by this strike, so we are now issuing special permits to jeepneys with different routes so they can ply the routes that would be affected,” Guadiz told reporters.

Guadiz said the LTFRB has also coordinated with the Philippine National Police (PNP) to maintain peace and order and with the local government units so they could provide additional free rides.

He said he was hoping that Piston National President Mody Floranda would still be open to discussing their concerns with him.

He also asked Piston not to push through with their strike, warning them that their franchise could be revoked or suspended.

Guadiz reiterated that there would be no phaseout of traditional jeepneys and that they could continue to operate after December 31 as long as they were deemed roadworthy and complied with the standards of the Land Transportation Office (LTO).

According to the LTFRB, 95,000 of the 154,000 units of public utility jeepneys (PUJ) were consolidated while 13,000 out 19,000 utility vehicles (UV) were consolidated all over the country. Jaspearl Tan/DMS