BAGUIO DRIVERS PUT COMMUTERS’ WELFARE ABOVE STRIKES
By: Nonnette C. Bennett, with reports from KaBenguetan News Network
Baguio jeepneys continue service to the riding public. (photo from KaBenguetan News Agency files)
BAGUIO CITY — Baguio Public Utility Vehicles (PUV) here did not join the nationwide transport strike led by PISTON to avoid public inconvenience, according to a report by Kabenguetan News Network.
While rising fuel prices continue to squeeze drivers across the country, transport groups in the city are choosing a different road, one that keeps commuters moving.
Leaders of local public utility vehicle (PUV) federations strongly claim that they will not take part in the planned transport strike led by PISTON, stressing that halting operations would only hurt the riding public.
Rey Bacoco, president of the Baguio PUV Transport Corp., said most operators in the city, whether running public utility jeepneys (PUJs) or utility vehicles (UVs), have long stood firm against strikes, whether local or nationwide, the news report said. For them, the burden would fall hardest on commuters.
In these dire times when transport costs are rising and earnings remain at the same rate, Baguio drivers are absorbing the pressure instead of passing it on to passengers. The stance reflects their firm commitment to keeping routes open even when profit margins shrink.
Across the country, transport strikes are often used to demand government intervention when fuel prices spike. But in Baguio, operators are cautious as they weigh the impact of protests on the riding public.
There is no transport shutdown, no stranded workers, no disrupted routines.
Even as challenges mount, Baguio’s drivers are choosing service over stoppage, proving that in the middle of a fuel crisis, the city’s transport sector is still putting commuters first, said the KaBenguetan News Network.
