MANILA, Philippines — The Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that it has approved fare hike for rail lines LRT-1 and LRT-2, but will defer its implementation upon the orders of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. for a “thorough study” on its economic impact on commuters.
The minimum boarding fee for both rail lines will be increased to P13.29 from P11, while for every kilometer traveled, an additional P1.21 from just P1 will be applied.
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“The fare increase will enable the two rail lines to improve their services, facilities and technical capabilities,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said in a statement. “The fare adjustment will help sustain the two commuter rail lines’ affordable mass transport services.”
While approved, the fare hike would not be immediately implemented as the DOTr heeded Marcos’ order for it to be deferred.
“In compliance with the president’s instruction, we will thoroughly study how a fare hike today will impact on passengers of our three rail lines in Metro Manila,” Bautista said, referring to LRT-1, LRT-2 and the MRT-3.
Bautista added that a fare hike for MRT-3 was rejected “due to infirmities in complying with the requirements and procedure.”
The last time a fare increase was approved for LRT-2 and MRT-3 was back in 2015, while the privatized LRT-1 has filed petitions for fare adjustments in 2016, 2018, 2020 and 2022 which were all deferred, Bautista said. — Xave Gregorio