MANILA, Philippines, August 22 ------ A taxi operators’ group has reiterated its call for the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to act on its motion seeking a P60 flagdown rate on taxi fares.
Philippine National Taxi Operators Association vice president Leo San Juan said in a radio interview yesterday that his group had filed the motion to reconsider the LTFRB decision to approve an additional P5 to the flag-down rate instead of the P20 increase they were seeking in the original petition filed in October 2022. San Juan noted that this adjustment was given on Oct. 3, 2022 and increased the flag-down rate to P45, from the previous P40. “We already filed a motion for reconsideration so that the P5 will be increased to P20 as the cost of living of the (taxi drivers) also increased,”
San Juan said, stressing that taxi operators are not asking for an additional rate for the succeeding kilometers. “There are no additional requests aside from the flag-down rate so that we do not need to calibrate as the number of the staff of LTFRB are limited. It will take time before the calibration is finished and the meters are changed,” he said, noting that based on their experience, it took five months before the calibration of the LTFRB was completed.Should the LTFRB approve the flag-down rate increase, it only needs to issue stickers as proof that the fare hike adjustment is authorized, he added. He also noted that numerous taxi units remain in garages as many operators are affected by the operation of Grab taxis.
Bus fare hike
Amid the increase in diesel prices, public utility buses (PUBs) plying Metro Manila and the provinces are also set to file a petition seeking an increase in the minimum fare. In a radio interview, Samahan ng mga Transport Operator ng Pilipinas managing director Juliet de Jesus said that operators of provincial and city buses will meet today to finalize the amount they would seek to be considered by the LTFRB. “We still don’t have the final figure. We will meet provincial bus operators to discuss our application,” De Jesus said.
She noted that aside from high diesel prices, provincial and city bus operators are also affected by the increase in spare parts prices, increase in toll fees and the P40 wage hike in the National Capital Region. De Jesus gave assurance that bus operators would immediately inform passengers once an amount for the fare hike is reached. “Hopefully, within this week we can come up with a figure,” she said as she assured the public that bus operators would take into consideration the effects of a fare increase to commuters and to inflation.
The most recent fare increase for buses was implemented on Oct. 3, 2022 with the minimum fare for ordinary PUBs in Metro Manila set at P13 for the first four kilometers and P2.25 for every succeeding kilometer and those for air-con PUBs set at P15 and P2.65 for every succeeding kilometer. As for provincial PUBs, the minimum fare is P11 and P1.90 for every kilometer. Various public utility jeepneys are also seeking a fare hike amid the impact of the unabated oil price hikes.
Source: philstar.com
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