Uniform Bukidnon bus fares set

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – Three bus companies plying the Cagayan de Oro-Bukidnon routes have been ordered to collect uniform fares, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) office in Northern Mindanao said yesterday.

To avoid unfair competition among the bus operators, LTFRB regional director Aminoden Guro said they re-imposed the original fare for buses plying to and from the cities of Malaybalay, Valencia and Maramag, all in Bukidnon.

Officials of Rural Transit Mindanao Inc., Super 5 and Pabama agreed to abide by the fare rate implemented by the agency.

Under the LTFRB-imposed tariff, the fare for the Cagayan de Oro-Malaybalay and vice versa is P150. A special privilege rate of P120 is set for students and senior citizens.

Regular fare for Cagayan de Oro-Valencia route is P200 and the special privilege rate is P160.

For the Cagayan de Oro-Maramag route, the regular fare was set at P240 and P190 for special rate.

The fare rates took effect on Dec. 1, but the bus operators asked the LTFRB-10 to move its implementation tomorrow, Dec. 5.

The operators said the move would give them time to inform the riding public.

Guro said some operators complained that their competitors lowered the fare to as low as P90 to attract more passengers.

He said the scheme affected the small operators who cannot afford to lower their ticket prices.