Drivers, operators not expected to raise fares

Drivers and operators of buses and other passenger vehicles like jeepneys and FX taxis are not expected to raise their fares simply on account of the forthcoming toll rate increase at the Skyway System. The other items they consider in planning fare hikes are fuel and vehicle maintenance costs which have reportedly been reduced.

"Many commuters even voluntarily pay additional fares to buses that take the Skyway in exchange for faster and safer tollway travel," Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) executive director Jaime Dumlao Jr. yesterday said to counter the speculations of Ray Junia of the Movement for Responsible Enterprise (MORE) that "bus fares might go up due to toll hike."

Dumlao clarified that the provisional increase for the Skyway System that will take effect on July 16 is only an average of 20 percent and not 100 percent as Junia claimed, but he also shared the oppositors’ views that the legal processes must be observed and exhausted before other options are considered.

Dumlao said that in approving the provisional toll increase, TRB had to invoke the pertinent provision of its Rules of Practice and Procedure Governing Hearings which allows TRB to grant provisional relief to the investor without prejudice to its final decision after completion of the hearing. It will be recalled that the hearings on the petition of the Skyway investor for an interim toll adjustment resulting from the significant currency devaluation are still ongoing since it started in February 2001.