CENTRO Manufacturing Corp. has designed a ready-to-install divider for public utility vehicles (PUV), adding to physical distancing measures that the government requires for transport operations during the quarantine period.
“The divider material is non-permeable, transparent plastic, and the dividers are installed conforming to physical distancing. They may be installed one seat apart or even at less than one meter apart,” Centro Senior Sales Manager Vic Belisario said in a statement on Wednesday.
The truck body manufacturer will be installing the dividers at any of its three production facilities in Quezon City, Cavite, and Bulacan. These are now being sold in automotive parts markets.
The equipment, which uses clamps, can be easily dismantled if a vehicle will be used to load cargoes, it said.
In its guidelines, the Land Transportation Office (LTO) has specified the use of dividers in public transport servicing laborers returning to work in areas under general community quarantine.
Specifically, it is allowing jeepney operators to install barriers between rows of seats that are less than one meter apart, maximizing the 50% passenger load which the agency permits.
The Metro Manila Council has unanimously agreed to transition the National Capital Region from the modified enhanced community quarantine to a more-relaxed quarantine period starting June 1.
However, the council recommends maintaining the suspension of jeepney and bus operations as transport agencies have yet to finalize a routing scheme.
Centro will soon apply for a patent for its seat dividers. — Adam J. Ang
