LTFRB-6 awaits order lowering regular fare to P6.50
The minimum fare for public jeepneys in Western Visayas will be lowered by 50 centavos within this week, according to the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
LTFRB regional director Porfirio Clavel said in a telephone interview on Sunday that the fare adjustment will be implemented as soon as his office receives the official order from the agency's main office.
Under the new fare rates, the minimum jeepney fare in the region will be P6.50 from the present P7. The discounted fare for students and the elderly will become P5.20 from the present P5.60.
There will be no adjustments in the rates after the first five kilometers, according to Clavel.
The fare decrease was prompted by the continued drop in the prices of oil products in the world market.
But Clavel said the decrease is only provisional because of the volatility of prices of oil products.
Clavel said the provisional fare reduction is already effective in Cental Visayas but not yet in Western Visayas.
Though the LTFRB regional office here has already recommended for the implementation of the P.50 provisional fare reduction, it still needs the approval of the LTFRB board. No reduction could be implemented without the board’s decision, said Clavel.
The LTFRB board composed of LTFRB chair Thomas Lantion Jr. with Engineer Gerardo Capili and lawyer Elena Cabatu has yet to give its decision on the P.50 fare reduction recommended by the LTFRB regional office.
Clavel added once the board approves the P.50 provisional fare reduction, the operators and drivers must get their “fare guide” at the LTFRB office. There is no need for the operators and drivers to acquire “fare matrix” since it is only a provisional fare increase.
He said the provisional fare reduction could be recalled once the diesel and gasoline prices hikes up in the international market. “The situation on oil prices is volatile and it is safe only to call for a provisional fare reduction,” Clavel said.
Clavel clarified the fare reduction is only applicable in public utility jeepneys. The fare in taxi, buses and vehicles for hire are still the same. The suspension on the P10 add on rate in taxis is still effective, clarified Clavel.
Meanwhile, the impending provisional fare reduction is being contested by the Iloilo City Alliance of Drivers Association (Icada) as there was no hearing or notification made to them by the LTFRB.
Icada chair Nick Dalisay said they will seek audience with Clavel on their sentiments over the P.50 provisional fare reduction. He said the provisional fare reduction should only be implemented if the price of gasoline is pegged at P23 per liter. The oil price rollback is not substantial for a fare reduction, Dalisay said.
The fare reduction will affect the drivers since the major oil companies here has yet to implement the P3 cut on their prices. Dalisay lamented that the gasoline still sells at P26.10 per liter here. It is only in Metro Manila where the rollback in oil prices is implemented.
The cutdown in fare reduction will affect the daily income of drivers and small operators, said Dalisay.