Transport groups mixed on P6.50 fare reduction

THE militant transport group Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Opereytor (Piston) Cebu will seek help from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB-7) in implementing the rates for the succeeding kilometers for public utility jeepneys (PUJs).

Piston-Cebu coordinator Greg Perez said passengers apparently have no idea that they still need to pay the fare for the succeeding kilometers aside from the P6.50 for the first five kilometers.

He said LTFRB-7 regional director Reynaldo Elnar clarified that the rate for every succeeding kilometer remained unchanged at 90 centavos.

Perez said jeepney drivers also raised their concern about the likely drop in their earnings due to longer turn-around time resulting from the traffic congestion caused by the major road repair in Mandaue City and the Mactan-Cebu Bridge.

“Piston members do not collect additional fare rates but the concern of the rerouting will also be tackled next week,” Perez said.

Meanwhile, the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Cooperative (Citrasco) have reminded their drivers since last week to implement the fare rollback, said Citrasco president Ryan Yu.

“So far, we have not received any conflict about this one, but we are also asking the riding public to also prepare 50 centavos in case the drivers will run out of change,” Yu told Cebu Daily News.

Yu said they have no plan to lower the rental rates for jeepneys despite the fare rollback.

He told reporters that the daily rental rates would remain at P350 to P700 because “it’s only the oil prices that changed but spare parts (and) tires (are) still expensive.”