Transport group welcomes new fare hike but maintains it’s not the ‘best’ solution

(CDN FILE PHOTO)

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Though the petition for another round of fare hikes did not come from transport groups in Cebu, the decision of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) central office to allow another round of fare hikes, effective Oct. 4, 2022, will affect commuters, drivers, and operators here in Cebu.

While the fare hike set to be implemented next month is a welcome development for the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide-Cebu (Piston-Cebu), the group, through its chairperson Greg Perez, maintained that it was not the best solution to the problem on the increasing price of fuel.

With most of the drivers, who have familie and who also need to spend for necessities, the pros of a fare increase for them are barely a viable addition to their families’ daily income.

Transport group

Greg Perez, chairperson of Piston-Cebu, has also reiterated that the petition for another round of fare increases was from the transport groups in the capital, and the transport groups here in Cebu, particularly, Piston-Cebu, has no immediate plans to submit the same petition.

Although they did not directly oppose the petition, Perez said they opted not to submit their versions of the call for fare adjustment because they understood how it would affect the commuters.

“Pero ato lang pod untang i-klaro nga kita diri sa Cebu o particular sa Piston, wala man ta magpetisyon ana pero sa implementasyon maapil ang Cebu. Posible agrabyahon sa mga sumasakay ang adjustment, kay bisan piso ra na, sayod ta nga medyo dako dako na na nga epekto sa sumasakay ang maong umento,” he told CDN Digital.

(But we want to make clear that we here in Cebu or particularly here in Piston, we did not petition for that but the implementation will include Cebu. It is possible that the commuters will be the one to be affected with the adjustment because even if that is only one peso, we know that that increase will be a big effect on the commuters.)

“Ang mahitabo lang jud sa pagkakaron nga naay mga petitioner nga nagsubmit tungod kay dili na nila kaya ang pagsaka sa presyo sa lana,” he added.

(What just happened now is that there is a petitioner, who submitted [for a fare increase] because they can no longer take the increase in the price of fuel.)

Exemption, rates

He also mentioned local government units (LGUs) which might also do something should they wish to have an exemption in the nationwide implementation of the fare increase.

Starting Oct. 4, 2022, the following will be the updated minimum fare rates approved by the LTFRB:

1. Jeepney: Traditional: from P11 to P12; Modern: from P13 to P14
2. City Bus: Ordinary: from P11 to P13; With air-conditioning: from P13 to P15
3. Provincial Bus: Ordinary: from P9 to P11; Deluxe bus (per kilometer): from P1.75 to P2.10; Super deluxe bus (per kilometer): from P1.95 to P2.35, and Luxury bus (per kilometer): from P2.40 to P2.90

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/dbs