In an order, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) set the minimum jeepney fare at P5 for the first five kilometers, and reduced the incremental for every succeeding kilometer from P1 to 70 centavos.
Last June 9, the LTFRB increased jeepney fares from P4 to P5.50 for the first five kilometers and from 57 centavos to P1 for every succeeding kilometer, raising a howl from commuters who saw their fares virtually doubled over certain distances.
Douglas Sanson, LTFRB regional officer-in-charge, said jeepney drivers can secure new matrices on the new fares from his office free of charge provided they have the matrices on the June increase.
Those who never secured the matrices for the June increase will be compelled to collect the rate prevailing before June 9 which was P4 for the first five kilometers. Those who collect the new rate of P5 without matrices face sanctions.
Sanson urged commuters to report drivers who collect the new rates without the new matrices, saying these drivers can be charged with overcharging.
Jaime Moncada, chairman of the Alyansa sa Nagkahiusang Drayber-Operator Alang sa Reporma, said all their members will comply and implement the new fare rate.
"We will comply to put an end to this issue. But if oil prices increase again, we will also be compelled to apply for a new fare increase," he said.
Prices of fuel increased by 50 centavos per liter last Monday in the aftermath of continuing increases in world crude oil prices.
The Nagkahiusang Draybers sa Sugbo said it refuses to recognize the LTFRB’s new order. But its coordinator, Rex Tidalgo, said they are leaving it up to their individual members if they will comply or not.
Tidalgo said their group and other transport organizations have asked for a minimum fare of P5 for the first four kilometers and 70 centavos for each succeeding kilometer.
Lawyer Manuel Iway, a former official of the Land Transportation Office who filed the petition for a fare reduction, was also not so elated by the LTFRB’s new order.
While Iway got the P5 he had sought for the first five kilometers, the LTFRB pegged the rate per succeeding kilometer at 70 centavos, not 57 centavos as he had proposed.
"I am not so happy with the LTFRB decision because what was approved is different from what the consumers asked for. If we sense that there is resistance on the part of the riding public, I will file a motion for reconsideration on that order," Iway said.
Sanson said the actual fare computed over certain distances beyond the first five kilometers shall be rounded off to the nearest multiple of 50 centavos.
Students and senior citizens will continue to enjoy 20-percent discount and children below three feet in height, are free. — Freeman News Service