Taxi operators to withdraw fare hike petition; bus firms next

Taxi operators are set to withdraw their fare hike petitions and bus associations will do likewise as oil prices continue to ease in the world market.

Two major groups of taxi operators have withdrawn yesterday their P15 fare hike petition for Metro Manila cabs which they filed in August last year.

The Philippine National Taxi Operators Association (PNTOA) and the Association of Taxi Operators in Metro Manila (ATOMM) withdrew their joint petition when new Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Thompson Lantion met with various transport leaders in his office yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines (PBOAP) and the Southern Luzon Bus Operators Association (SOLUBOA) are also set to withdraw their 25-centavo fare hike petition filed in September 2005 for air-conditioned provincial public utility buses (PUBs).

PNTOA president Bong Suntay said aside from the falling prices of gasoline in the world market, the move is also their way of showing their support to the new administration led by Lantion at LTFRB.

Lantion replaced Maria Elena Bautista as part of a reshuffle within the Department of Transportation and Communications.

"The fare hike petitions we filed last year were also triggered by the expensive fines and penalties imposed by the previous LTFRB administration. With the dropping oil prices and chairman Lantion’s promise to reassess these exorbitant charges, we see no need for a fare hike. To show our goodwill, we are withdrawing our petition," Suntay said.

Metro Manila taxis currently charge a P30 flag-down rate and an additional P2.50 for every succeeding 300 meters and two-minute waiting time.

On the other hand, engineer Homero Mercado, president of both PBOAP and SOLUBOA, said with the Department of Energy’s pronouncement that oil prices will continue to drop, they see no need to pursue their petition.

For his part, Vigor Mendoza, spokesman and lawyer of the United Transport Cooperative, said they are willing to roll back the fares of jeeps and buses if the government lowers the value added tax (VAT) to only five percent and to postpone the mandatory use of coco diesel in public utility vehicles.

Fuel prices have dropped steadily in the past weeks, with premium now selling at less than P39 a liter at some gas stations from a high of more than P41.

Selected stations also sell unleaded gasoline with ethanol additives, in anticipation of the passing of the biofuels law that seeks to lessen the country’s dependence on foreign sources of fossil fuel.