Letter To The Editor - LTFRB's broken promises

More than a month ago, Director Romulo Bernardes of the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board had warned jeepney operators and drivers that if they do not claim the official fare matrix issued by their office, they cannot collect the newly jeepney minimum fare of P8, otherwise, it will be considered illegal and subject for penalty. Mr. Bernardes also said that they will apprehend those who will not get these so-called fare matrix.

This statement of Mr. Bernardes has been printed on local print media, and was broadcasted on radio and tv news programs. But it seems that this statement from LTFRB is more fictional than a warning with realistic bites. Why? It is because no one from their office is really monitoring and up to penalize those who failed to claim the fare matrix which is a regulation after the last fare increase has been approved. It seems that violators of not claiming the fare matrix are free to roam our roads, illegaly collect P8 as a miminum fare, and no one seems to bother to get them. What happened to the words of Mr. Bernardes? He warns and will never act on it?

As a PUJ passenger, I've noticed that there are still PUJ units who don't have fare matrix inside their jeepneys but will force their passengers to pay P8 instead of P7. Clever enough that when you will ask them where's their fare matrix they will tell you they lost it, or the operators don't want to display them fearing that someone will steal it. But as an educated person I do know the real score behind this issue - they cheated and violated the law about the fare matrix. Even if they do have one and they didn't post it, it's still a violation.

Fare matrix is to be displayed inside PUJ units, in areas wherein passengers can easily see, and seeing a PUJ units who doesn't have a fare matrix only means one thing - a law violator.

Well, if Mr. Bernardes is not serious in keeping his promises to the riding public, expect the people the second time that when he talks about warning fare matrix violators of getting caught, no one will buy his statements anymore. In the first place does the LTFRB have field personnels to back it up when he talks that they will apprehend the said violators?

If he is really serious, by now he should have made the list of those violators, based on their records, on who claimed and did not claim the fare matrix and forwarded it to the Land Transportation Office, so that one by one these violators will get caught and penalized.

Mr. Bernardes should not wait for the riding public to report to them the plate numbers of those PUJ units who don't have the said matrix because his LTFRB records department has all the list. Right in front of his very eyes, figures will tell him how many percent of the group of operators respect the law.

The riding public wants to know: Do violators of fare matrix really get caught? Does the LTFRB really monitor them? Or just leave them behind even if they abuse and fool the riding public again and again? Do they knew reports that Mandaue, Mepza and Talamban routes are the top violators of student discounts and fare matrix?

Where are your promises Mr. Bernardes?

Archiles Larion

Labangon, Cebu City