Regulatory Board won't stop Coastal Road toll hike

MANILA, Philippines - The Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) defended their approval of 25 to 60 percent toll fee hikes imposed this year on motorists using the Manila-Cavite Expressway, saying these were merely part of regular “adjustments” deserved by the toll road operator.

TRB spokesman Julius Corpuz said the P3 toll hike covering the stretch of Coastal Road from Kabihasnan Avenue to Roxas Boulevard for Class 1 vehicles was a “corrective adjustment” in view of the toll hike awarded by the TRB to the toll road operator state firm Public Estates Authority Tollway Corp. (PEATC) and its investor, the UEM-MARA Philippines Corp for 2009.

Corpuz said the 2009 toll “adjustment” they awarded to PEATC was a regular increase provided every three years stipulated in the toll operation and maintenance contract between the government and PEATC.

He said the PEATC requested for the toll to be increased to P8 even if the distance from Kabihasnan to Roxas Boulevard is 2.85 kilometers, and the approved rate for the Coastal Road effective last Jan. 1 is P3.34 per kilometer for Class 1 vehicles.

“If you multiply that, the toll fee should be 9.52 or if rounded off should be P10. However, the investor only requested for P8 rather than P10 so we approved a new toll fee of P8,” Corpuz said.

He said the Kabihasnan to Roxas Boulevard section of the toll road was a temporary access opened in 2002 only as an accommodation to a government request to decongest traffic at Quirino Avenue, the alternate road connecting Manila to Parañaque, Las Piñas and Cavite “because La Huerta bridge was then under repair.”

Corpuz expressed confidence that the Coastal Road toll rates will be found “reasonable” compared to the rates of tollways in other countries.          – Rainier Allan Ronda