Taxi operators: No fare hike yet

CEBU, Philippines - As public utility jeepney and bus operators are determined to increase its respective fares, taxi operators said they are still setting aside the idea of increasing flagdown rate.

“So far, wala pa may pla-no sa pag-increase sa pletehan sa mga taxi,” said Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman and managing director of Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-purpose Cooperative.

CITRASCO owned 200 taxi units out of the 6,000 taxi units in Cebu alone.

Yu, who is also the chairman of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association Inc., the mother of all transport groups and associations in Cebu, said that prices of auto-liquefied petroleum gas is fluctuating. LPG is utilized in majority of Cebu’s taxi units.

It can be recalled that the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association, including the Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association headed by Richard Cabucos filed a fare hike petition in March 6, 2012, raising taxi fare by P10 from P40 to P50 on its flagdown rate and another P1 on the succeeding kilometer from the current P3.50 to P4.50.

However, taxi operators opted to file a “motion to archive” their petition amidst the reduction in the prices of fuel for the past several months.

Meanwhile, Yu said no public hearing was scheduled for the fare hike petition the PUJ operators filed before the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 early this month.

CITRASCO, citing increases in the prices of spare parts, filed a petition to increase jeepney’s minimum fare by P2.50. If approved, minimum fare will be P10 from the current P7.50.

Thirty two bus operators under the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association, Cebu South Mini-bus Operators Association and North and South Operators Association, have likewise plan to file a petition to reinstate the 2011 approved bus fare by LTFRB.

This came after LTFRB handed down a stringent requirement to phase out buses which are already beyond 15-years old.

The group wanted to implement this time, an P8.50 fare for the first five kilometers and P1.45 fare for the succeeding kilometers, which was already approved by LTFRB few years ago.

However, due to stiff competitions, bus operators opted to implement only a fare of P6 for the first five kilometers and P1.20 for the succeeding kilometers, which was also approved by the LTFRB board in 2011.

LTFRB-7 regional director Ahmed Cuizon said the petition to reinstate the original fare still needs an approval from LTFRB, without which it cannot be implemented.  (FREEMAN)