Tuesday, July 08, 2008 Tomas to allow P0.50 fare hike
FEARING a major disruption in public transport, Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña will allow jeepney drivers to collect P0.50 on top of the P7 minimum fare to keep them on the streets.
Osmeña is also willing to write off the penalties and fines for traffic rules violations of drivers plying routes in the city to provide a relief to the drivers and operators.
City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem said the mayor offered the two options after hearing that some 40 public utility jeepneys have stopped plying their routes because they can no longer cope with the oil price increase.
“The drivers and operators are already borderline on quitting their business. It has lost its viability,” he told Sun.Star Cebu.
He said that Osmeña has given instructions to the City Traffic Operations Management to check the legal aspect of the cancellation of the drivers’ penalties and fines.
Jakosalem said the mayor understands the drivers’ situation and the circumstances that led them to demand to increase jeepney fare to P8.
Scenario
“We will have a scenario where if the National Government does not do anything serious, there will be more jeepneys that will not be running if they’re not granted an increase. The mayor understands that so he said, if some drivers will collect P7.50, the City will not go after them and apprehend them,” he continued.
Earlier, the National Confederation of Transport Workers’ Union said the provisional fare increases the government has been granting are not enough.
They pushed for the regulation of the oil industry and value added tax exemption on fuel used by public utility vehicles as a long-term solution to the crisis.
Without these in place and without a fare hike, Jakosalem said they cannot blame the drivers and operators if they stop plying their routes.
In the event that more jeepneys stop operating, the City Government can only do so much in transporting the passengers that will be stranded.
“We are not prepared to deal with that scenario permanently, but we also can’t force the drivers not to quit because of the circumstances,” Jakosalem added. (LCR)
