LTFRB-7 says no guidelines yet on fare reduction

CEBU, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7 still has to receive the guidelines with regards to the earlier proposal of the Department of Transportation to reduce fare by P3.

LTFRB-7 regional director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said that to date he has no idea whether only jeepneys, both traditional and modernized jeepneys, will reduce fare or other denominations such as buses, taxi or UV Express are included.

“So far wala pa gyud guidelines from DOTr although there was already a proposal to reduce fare by P3,” Montealto told The Freeman.

Montealto said that whatever is the final amount of fare reduction that will be implemented, there is already a P1.120 billion budget on this nationwide through the Service Contracting Program.

Through this program, Montealto said the amount of fare reduction is subsidized by the government.

“Pero kani nga subsidy kay dili ni forever. Siguro mga two to three months ra ni kutob,” Montealto added.

DOTr Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor told The Freeman earlier that the call to reduce fare among PUVs is in line with the government’s service contracting program.

“Under service contracting po ito, the government will subsidize the operational expenses of the operator,” Pastor had said.

Under the service contracting program, operators and drivers are allowed to make a profit based on the number of trips they run each week, whether they have a ride or not.

LTFRB-7 implemented this program in three phases last year, the third phase ended on June 22, 2022.

This program is a performance-based incentive given to operators and drivers involved in the program based on the number of trips their vehicles operate each week.

Under the latest proposal, DOTr is proposing to lower traditional and modern jeepneys’ fare by P3 on its minimum fare from P12 to 9 and P14 to 11, respectively, as well as the same amount of reduction for buses. — GMR (FREEMAN)