Thursday, May 22, 2008 Document, issued in lieu of tariff matrix, will allow drivers to collect new P6.50 jeepney fare By Elias O. Baquero Sun.staff reporter
THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) started issuing notices to public utility jeepney (PUJ) drivers so they can legally collect the new P6.50 fare.
In a press conference yesterday, LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardes called on the drivers to prepare at least P20 in coins before plying their routes so they would have loose change to give passengers.
He likewise appealed to the passengers to prepare the exact fare amount to avoid bickering with the drivers in case there are is no loose change available.
Bernardes said the “notice” they are issuing in lieu of the tariff matrix is free. Only PUJ operators and drivers who have legitimate Certificate of Public Convenience (franchise) will be issued such notice, and will not include colorum units.
As approved by the LTFRB en banc, the P0.50 provision fare hike took effect yesterday, a day after President Arroyo and the Cabinet endorsed it during their meeting in Panglao, Bohol.
But some drivers in Cebu City opted not to collect the additional P0.50 from their passengers, to avoid arguments over the unavailability of loose change.
The provisional increase will be in effect until the petition for the P1.50 increase in the minimum fare is approved. The petition is still pending while the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), Department of Finance (DOF) and the Bangko Sentral Pilipinas study the proposed P2 fuel subsidy to PUJ drivers.
Bernardes said that if the P1.50 minimum fare rate increase is approved, the P0.50 provisional increase will be discontinued.
Lawyer Manuel Iway, a former director of the defunct Land Transportation Commission, now the LTFRB, said that the P0.50 provisional fare increase is illegal because it did not go through a public hearing as required by law.
Bernardes said, though, that their central office in Manila conducted the hearing, which was also announced by Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) Secretary Leandro Mendoza after the Cabinet meeting in Bohol the other day.
Yesterday, some PUJ drivers who stopped by the Ayala Center Cebu jeepney terminal said they wouldn’t be collecting the P0.50 fare increase to avoid a conflict with their passengers.
Sonny Senillo, a jeepney driver of 12 years, said he would prefer a P1 increase since 25 centavo coins are hard to find. Other drivers shared his concern.
“Makahatag nag gamay nga kalipay sa mga drayber pero makahatag sad nag kagubot. Murag gisabong ang pasahero ug drayber ana (The fare hike would give some relief to drivers but it would also result in conflict between passengers and drivers),” said Danny Gato, council member of the north bound members of Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo (Nadsu).
The drivers also lamented they can hardly get by with the continuous increase in the prices of food and fuel.
Wilfredo Zosa Jr., a jeepney driver of 30 years, said he used to bring home at least P500 a day but with the increase in the price of fuel, he would be lucky to earn P300 a day.
Nadsu spokesperson Ruben Rama said they are pushing for a fare recovery and not a fare hike.
He recalled that in 2004, a minimum fare rate of P5.50 for the first four kilometers was implemented. But in Central Visayas, the rate implemented was only P5 for the first five kilometers.
The following year, a P2 fare hike was implemented but only P1 was granted for region 7.
Gato said the previous increase that Central Visayas drivers did not get led Nadsu to submit last December a position paper for fare recovery amounting to P1.50. They filed the same position paper last March.
Nadsu officials lamented that the minimum fare in Luzon and Mindanao is already P7.50 while in Visayas it is only P6.50.
They said the same fare increase should be implemented in all regions.
To cut down on their expenses, some passengers opted to walk short distances instead of taking the jeepney.
Erwin Orlanes, 37, spends around P100 a day when traveling from the city to Catmon town in the north.
“It’s okay because fuel prices have also gone up. It’s only fair to the drivers,” he said.
Meanwhile, Bernardes said his office will review the distance in various routes because of complaints of overcharging in almost all areas.
He cited as an example the drivers plying the Mandaue-Cebu City route who collect a P10 fare, which will now be P10.50, despite the fact that the distance is only seven kilometers.
With the seven-kilometer distance and the official fare rate of P6.50 for the first five kilometers and P1 per succeeding kilometer, the fare for the Mandaue-Cebu City route should only be P8.50.
Prior to the fare increase, drivers also collected P7 for the Carbon-Foodland route in Banilad, Cebu City with a distance of six kilometers, Bernardes said. They now collect P7.50.
The same amount is reportedly collected from passengers who take the jeepney from the University of San Carlos Talamban campus to Foodland, when the distance is only less than five kilometers.
“We have to revisit the various routes and determine the exact distance. Then we will issue a tariff matrix as guide for the commuting public,” Bernardes said.
He also urged the drivers to follow the law that grants discounts to senior citizens and students. (EOB with STC Mass Comm interns
