Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Public vehicle operators told to cut boundary fees
By Rimaliza Opiña
TO HELP taxi and jeepney drivers, five Baguio City councilors on Tuesday urged operators of public utility vehicles (PUVs) to reduce the boundary fees imposed on drivers.
The steady increase in the prices of fuel vis-a-vis the fixed fare rates affect the income of drivers who remit the day's earnings regardless of the number of passengers they had, said Councilors Galo Weygan, Rocky Thomas Balisong, Daniel Fariñas, Faustino Olowan, and Leandro Yangot Jr. in a proposed resolution.
"Taxi and jeepney fares are fixed by the government and do not change (compared to the) prices of variable cost such as gasoline, making the net income of drivers suffer substantially. The driver is the shock absorber of the unfavorable changes," they said.
"At times when passengers are few, drivers find themselves with nothing left from their day's earnings as take home pay," they said.
Drivers who do not own the vehicles they drive are usually at the receiving end every time there is an increase in fuel price since they remit a fixed boundary at the same time shoulder the expenses for gasoline and repair, said the councilors, adding that only a reduction in boundary remittances could alleviate their plight.
(August 16, 2006 issue)
Write letter to the editor. Click here.
Join the Sun.Star message board. Click here. |
