LTFRB clarifies cost of jeepney fare matrix

MANILA, Philippines—The Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board on Wednesday clarified that the fee for the new fare matrix is P560, not P610.

LTFRB chair Martin Delgra III explained that the fare matrix paper per unit only costs P50. He said the amount covers the administrative cost.

He added that there is a regulatory fee of P510 per franchise and not per unit, making the fare matrix fee total P560.

“As early as 2001, there is a department order that mandates filing regulatory fee of P510 every time you apply for fare matrix,” Delgra said in an interview with CNN’s “The Source.”

Social media users slam steep fee

Delgra said he does not know where it was reported that the LTFRB charges P610 for the fare matrix.

He made the clarification after reports on Monday said that the LTFRB issued the new fare matrix for the fare hike in NCR, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog regions, surfaced. The reports cited that there is a P610 fee for the new matrix to be issued to jeepney operators.

The supposed imposition of the P610 fee was slammed by online users who said the fare matrix “very expensive” since it is printed on regular paper.

The breakdown of the P610 fee is as follows:

P40 for franchise verification
P50 for fare matrix, and
P520 for increase of rate

— ???????? (@elplss) November 6, 2018

The LTFRB chair, however, clarified that the computation is inaccurate.

'Fare matrix not easy to fake'

Delgra said the fare matrix features the plate number, official receipt, signature of the authorized LTFRB official, which is hard to manipulate.

However, Delgra admitted that several drivers still secure fake copies of fare matrix. He said the replication of the matrix is now part of the administrative concerns.

“Nothing is absolutely foolproof,” Delgra explained, adding that his agency would review the process as ordered by Transport Secretary Arthur Tugade.

Delgra said the LTFRB will look into the process to better implement fare adjustment in the future.

Earlier, Transport Undersecretary for Road Mark de Leon said there is an existing rule that drivers and operators cannot charge higher fares without an updated fare matrix issued by the LTFRB.

READ: LTFRB to drivers: No fare matrix, no fare hike

The LTFRB earlier upheld its decision to grant P1 provisional increase in July and added a P1 for the first four kilometers, permanently. This decision increased the minimum fare for jeepneys to P10.

According to a report on The STAR report, there are 41,375 jeepneys in Metro Manila alone.  —With reports from Romina Cabrera