Iloilo City pilot site for UN-funded low carbon transport system (Sabong News)
Author
Tara Yap
Date
APRIL 08 2022
ILOILO CITY – This city has been chosen as the pilot site of a low carbon urban transport system project funded by an agency of the United Nations (UN).
“This project is geared towards reducing pollutants in the air by embracing an environmentally-friendly mass transport system,” said Mayor Jerry Treñas.
The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) together with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to complement the environmental initiatives of the local government of Iloilo City, the regional capital of Western Visayas.
“The partnership will create programs and policies for public transport and that include tricycles, jeepneys, and other public utility vehicles which are number one contributors to pollution due to emissions from their [old] engines,” said Jeck Conlu, chief of Iloilo City’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office (PSTMO).
“We need to reduce the high impact to the environment. The project will help us technically towards becoming a smart city with digitized traffic management to address congestion,” Conlu explained.
The project will particularly complement the newly-approved Local Public Transportation Route Plan (LPTRP), which pushes modernized jeepneys for lesser carbon emissions.
The Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) has also started creating bike lanes in certain parts of Iloilo City to promote bikes not just as an alternative mode of transportation but for its being environmentally-friendly as well.
The project will be in collaboration with the Iloilo City Environment and Natural Resources Office and the Iloilo City Planning and Development Office.
