MRT-3 refiles fare hike bid

MANILA, Philippines — The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 has refiled a petition to increase fares for the MRT-3 to boost the capital in operating and maintaining the railway, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced yesterday.

Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said the MRT-3 management filed a petition for the fare hike with the DOTr’s Rail Regulatory Unit.

Chavez said the MRT-3 management made another push to increase train fares after its previous petition was denied due to its failure to issue a public notice on time.

According to Transportation Assistant Secretary Jorjette Aquino, the MRT-3 is seeking the same fare increases as the one approved for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 in April.

The MRT-3 management is seeking to increase the boarding fare to P13.29 from P11 and the distance fare to P1.21 from P1 per kilometer.

The current boarding fare is P11 while the distance fare is P1 per kilometer.

Once approved, the minimum fare for the MRT-3 will increase from P13 to P16 while the maximum fare will go up to P34 from P28.

Chavez said the MRT-3 adjusted fares eight years ago.

The fare hikes to be implemented at the LRT-1 and LRT-2 beginning Aug. 2 will fund the operations and maintenance of the railways, he said.

Chavez said the end-to-end travel from Recto to Antipolo station of the LRT-2 costs P178 per passenger, but the Light Rail Transit Authority, operator of the rail line, charges only P30.

“The subsidy by the government for every passenger riding end-to-end is P148,” he said.