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Thursday, July 28, 2005
Bus companies to implement fare rate hike
Bus fares will increase after the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association (CPBOA) announced that it will implement the official fare rate of P1.10 per kilometer starting Aug. 1, 2005.
Bus owner Nicasio Villahermosa, CPBOA president, said they have created Task Force Bantay Pasahe to ensure that all bus operators will implement the legal rate.
Those who will not comply will be apprehended by the Land Transportation Office (LTO) for undercharging.
LTO 7 Director Alex Leyson said he will assign deputized agents to accompany the task force.
Undercharging carries a P500 fine.
Villahermosa said that although the bus fare of P1.10 per kilometer was approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Aug. 9, 2004 yet, all of them did not collect the rate because of heavy competition.
At present, bus companies are charging rates ranging from P0.55, P0.72, P0.75 and P0.76 per kilometer.
For the past several years, Villahermosa said only the bus operators in Cebu are not following the rates approved by the LTFRB. Oftentimes, the fares are lower by 30 to 40 percent than the official rates.
Villahermosa, who owns Villahermosa Bus Lines and Nathalie Liner, said most of the operators cannot anymore give low fare rates because of higher fuel prices and operating cost.
“We cannot allow this undercharging to continue because of the skyrocketing fuel prices, spare parts and tires. This is a matter of survival on the part of the operators,” Villahermosa said.
The adjusted rates were scheduled to start last July 20 yet, but the operators decided to defer it to Aug. 1 because some of them have not yet been issued a new tariff by LTFRB.
CPBOA has 50 members and about 15 of them attended the meeting called by Villahermosa yesterday to discuss the implementation of the legal rates.
In January 2004, the LTFRB had raised the fare rate to P0.90 per kilometer. But the bus operators implemented only a rate of P0.55 per kilometer.
LTFRB Legal Officer Jose Douglas Sanson said they convinced the bus operators to sign a memorandum of agreement increasing the rate from P0.55 to P0.72. However, cutthroat competition forced operators to reduce their fares. (EOB)
(July 28, 2005 issue)
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