THE regional director of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Northern Mindanao announced August 5 that the much awaited Green GSM units will start plying in El Salvador City only but up to any point in the region.
In an interview, LTFRB 10 director Alexes Joseph Bendijo also said that the concerns of existing taxi drivers in Cagayan de Oro City with the impending entry of Green GSM has already reached the ears of the agency’s chairman, Vigor Mendoza II.
For this reason, the Green GSM units are currently housed at the company’s spacious depot in barangay Taytay, El Salvador City and will likely emanate from there once their operations kick off.
But Bendijo immediately clarified that there is no date set yet for the start of the operations of Green GSM here because of the concerns of existing taxi drivers.
Yet Bendijo said that the thrust of the national government nowadays is already into environment friendly public transport with the passage of Republic Act 11697, otherwise known as the Electric Vehicle Industry Development Act of 2022.
Under EVIDA, Northern Mindanao is allocated 500 electric vehicle units as taxicabs.
Green GSM grabbed 300 of these slots and Bendijo is urging taxi operators in Cagayan de Oro City – the region’s capital – to avail the remaining 200 slots.
“EVIDA is now the thrust of the national government. We are encourigng public and private use of low emission and other alternative energy technologies,” Bendijo said.
The said Republic Act mandates a national development plan to accelerate the development, commercialization and utilization of electric vehicles in the country. It lapsed into law in 2022.
