Jeepney drivers seek additional P1.25 to proposed P9 minimum fare

The president of a nationwide organization of jeepney operators and drivers will amend his fare hike petition on Tuesday to ask the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to allow an additional P1.25 to the proposed minimum fare of P9.

Efren de Luna, Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations (ACTO) president, said in a phone interview he will request that jeepney drivers be permitted to collect from passengers an additional P1.25 after the first four kilometers, not 75 centavos.

De Luna said he is demanding from the government three main things:

• To give an additional P1 discount for every liter, or a total of P2 discount per liter, for public utility vehicles, on fuel products in gas stations. The current is P1 per every liter.

• That government reduce the taxes on spare parts in order to lower the costs of these items.

• That there should only be one ticketing system in the country. At present, there are three agencies issuing tickets to traffic violators — the local governments, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, and the Land Transportation Office.

De Luna said LTFRB Chairwoman Ma. Elena Bautista did not understand his fare hike petition since, for one thing, the minimum distance in his petition was not six kilometers, but four kilometers.

Jeepneys will be able to give a discount for very long trips in the current petition, but will not necessarily make the drivers and operators lose income, he added.

De Luna said most passengers travel short distances, not long trips. His petition would even raise the income of the drivers and operators, he added.

Bautista had said De Luna’s petition would effect a reduction of fare for long trips since the petition also seeks to reduce the succeeding charges after the first six kilometers from P1.25 to 75 centavos.

"It’s a fare reduction actually," she said.

"May increase lang sa first six kilometers. Ang net result mas mura. From P7.50 for first four kilometers, gusto nila P9 (minimum for first six kilometers).

"And every succeeding kilometer from P1.25 to P0.75. Bottom line, example, Philcoa to Quiapo mga 10 kilometers yun. From P15 magiging P13.50."

The current fare is P7.50 minimum for the first four kilometers and an additional P1.25 for every kilometer after the fourth one.

De Luna also demanded that the LTO and the LTFRB lower their fees and called for the resignation of Bautista.

All of his demands have not been granted and he has no choice but to amend the petition to increase the succeeding charges of jeepneys from 75 centavos to P1.25 after the minimum of P9 after the first four kilometer, he added.

A fare hike is badly needed by the jeepney sector because of the exceptionally irregular rising cost of fuel recently, coupled with the correlative rise in the costs of essentials and spare parts for the maintenance of jeepneys due to the Expanded Value Added Tax (EVAT) and other charges, De Luna said.

Bautista had said a P9 basic fare could be expensive for short distance passengers, especially students. — Sandy Araneta