Thursday, March 27, 2008 Nadsu drivers to push drive for fare hike
DRIVERS from the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo (Nadsu) yesterday said they will pressure the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to approve the minimum fare of P7.50 for the first four kilometers otherwise their families will go hungry.
Nadsu is affiliated with the Manila-based Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahang Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Piston) which is presently petitioning for another P2 increase of the existing P7.50 minimum fare in Metro Manila.
Nadsu-Piston secretary general Ruben Rama said the operators can no longer improve their units because of high maintenance cost. He said the high fuel prices are now aggravated by high prices of rice.
Rama said they are not petitioning for an increase but they just want to claim the P1.50 that was supposedly the increase in the past years but which LTFRB did not implement.
He said that in 2004, the LTFRB approved a minimum fare of P5.50 for the first four kilometers. But then LTFRB 7 director Rogelio “Jingjing” Osmeña reduced it to only P5 for the first five kilometers.
He said that in 2005, LTFRB again gave them an increase of P1.50 for the first four kilometers. But again, Osmeña reduced it to only P1.
He said they lost a total of P1.50, and they want it back in addition to the present P6 minimum fare.
Roy Opura, chairman of NADSU-Northbound, said that to prevent oil companies from increasing prices without consulting the public, the government must abolish Republic Act 8479 (the Oil Deregulation Law).
Commodities
Opura said the Revised Value Added Tax (RVAT) has also added to the woes of the people because of its chain reaction especially on the prices of commodities.
Nadsu filed the petition for the increase last Dec. 10 but did not push through with it because of some price reductions. However, the petition was refiled last March 12 because the price of diesel ballooned to P39.76 per liter in Metro Cebu, from the P26 per liter in 2004 and P29 per liter in 2005.
Ferry Sia, president of Nadsu-Mandaue Operators and Drivers Association Inc., said the operators can no longer afford to buy high-priced tires, spare parts and engine oil.
Operators change the oil of their engine every month at the cost of P540 per gallon of oil.
“That is too much. Tama na, sobra na”, Sia said.
Sia said the minimum fare in Luzon and Mindanao is already P7.50. There is no reason why LTFRB will not grant the same to jeepney operators and drivers in the Visayas. (EOB)
