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Thursday, May 26, 2005
Editorial: Fare rate increase
IF reports hold true Cagayan de Oro city residents are scheduled to pay at least P7.00 as passenger jeepney rates today following the 15-day effectivity of the fare rate approved for the city--and we understand--even the whole of Region 10.
But the P2.00 increase--at least that's what's heard--is based on the national fare rate petition submitted to the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and this was used as basis by the Transport Federation of Cagayan de Oro (Trafeco) for their own fare rate for its members.
If it can be recalled, there was a call for a regional fare rate increase in order to somewhat democratize and apply the fare rate increases on a regional basis--what economists would call as "socialized rates."
This was done in the belief that every region has unique income and financial status and so can accommodate a certain amount for a fare rate increase. But with the new rates it is a foregone conclusion that this government promise had been cast out of the window.
Despite the protests of other transport groups like the Solidarity Transport Alliance for Region 10 (Starex) which is connected with the Piston transport group that a fare rate increase isn't needed because of the effects on passengers a fare rate had been decided on, with government not surprisingly leading the way.
The government led the charge in order to defuse public outrage--not the least of which comes from the transport sector themselves--regarding their apparent inutility in dismantling the oil deregulation law and ultimately the Big Three oil cartel in the country.
To continue with our hand-wringing, the city government should have at least mustered the courage and even gumption to ask the Trafeco to at least stem the fare rate petition for a month or two or after the wage hike petition--which is again being spearheaded by the government though they're plodding the management line as part of what looks like face-saving measures in the wake of these oil price increases and now the Expanded Value-Added Tax (Evat).
If memory serves right there was a proposal in Cebu City, for one that was approved by Mayor Tomas Osmeña which allows passenger jeepney rates free, unrestricted access to major thoroughfares on certain days of the week in exchange for retaining the current fare rates.
The rationale being that if they were given near-unlimited access, their earnings would double or even triple because they can hawk in more passengers.
However City Hall didn't have this sense of creativity and was reduced last year to begging Trafeco to suspend the fare rates after the passenger jeepneys began collecting the fare increase.
There was even some confusion as to how much was the increase last year as there were even jeepney drivers like those plying the Canitoan route who charge their passengers anywhere from P8.50 to P9.00, up from the usual P7.00 based on their own calculations--we believe the Visayan word is "pataka (indiscriminate)."
In this regard we can only hope that the LTFRB-10, the transport groups and even city residents themselves help to monitor the implementation of this fare rate increase in order to prevent some unscrupulous elements from taking advantage of the situation.
(May 26, 2005 issue)
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