Fare cut in effect next week

MANILA, Philippines – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is set to implement next week a P1 fare cut for buses and 50 centavos for jeepneys pending deliberations on the petition for fare cuts filed by the National Council for Commuters Protection (NCCP).

LTFRB chairman Thompson Lantion said jeepney and bus operators agreed Thursday night on the provisional fare cut as an offshoot of the series of rollbacks in diesel and gasoline prices in the local market.

“The provisional fare reduction is P1 for buses and 50 centavos for jeepneys,” Lantion told The STAR.

He also said that the original petition of the NCCP headed by Vicente Millora would be still be deliberated upon by the LTFRB.

NCCP wants the minimum fare reduced from the current P8.50 for the first five kilometers to P7 for jeepneys, from P10.50 to P8 for ordinary buses and from P12 to P10 for air-conditioned buses.

The additional fare for succeeding kilometers shall remain pending further review.

The LTFRB has set a public hearing on the petition on Nov. 4.

Meanwhile, the militant jeepney transport group Pinagkaisang Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (PISTON) is not happy with the P5 oil price rollback implemented by oil companies, vowing to stage protest actions calling for a bigger price reduction in the next few days.

George San Mateo, PISTON secretary general, said they are unimpressed with the P5 rollback because it is inadequate, considering the fall in the price of crude oil in the world market.

“From a high of almost $150 dollars a barrel, it has fallen to $61 dollars. From our calculations, the price of diesel and unleaded gasoline should not be higher than P35 to reflect the drop in the price of crude oil,” San Mateo told The STAR.

San Mateo said other transport groups such as the PASANG MASDA, LUZVIMINDA, FERCODA, FEMANDA and PEDTROPA, will join them in their protest actions to push the Big 3 oil companies – Shell, Petron and Chevron – to implement further rollbacks.