Jeepney drivers seek P10 minimum fare

MANILA, Philippines — Transport groups have filed with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) a petition asking for a fare hike for public utility jeepneys (PUJs). 

The petition is asking to bring back the P10 minimum fare for jeepneys implemented in 2018. The current minimum fare is P9.

The petition was filed by the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations, Pasang Masda, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP), Land Transportation Organization of the Philippines and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines Inc.

The LTFRB yesterday met with transport leaders to discuss their proposal to increase jeepney fares to P10 for the first four kilometers. 

LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra said fare adjustments cannot be made haphazardly.

“The agency is on top of this. Of course, the livelihood of drivers and operators depend on their daily trips. But they have to understand that we have to study the data we have before implementing any changes,” Delgra said in Filipino.

If the provisional hike is granted, transport groups are also seeking a P2 increase in minimum fare for PUJs in the National Capital Region, Central Luzon and Mimaropa. 

The groups are also asking the LTFRB to raise the per kilometer rate from the current P1.50 to P2 after the first four kilometers.

Transport leaders had earlier said the increase would help jeepney drivers amid rising diesel prices in the global market and locally due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.

FEJODAP leader Zeny Maranan said they expect diesel prices to hit P50 per liter due to the tense US-Iran relations in the Middle East.

The LTFRB already has a fare matrix in place based on oil prices but the groups are insisting that taxes should be included in the computation. 

The LTFRB in 2018 made permanent a P1 increase that set minimum fares for jeepneys at the current P9. 

In October that year, it also granted a P1 provisional increase that hiked jeepney fares to P10, but this was revoked in December.