Monday, September 15, 2008 Council raises tricycle fare to P8 in Lapu
LAPU-LAPU City’s tricycle drivers won the P1 increase in fare that they asked for in a petition.
The Lapu-Lapu City Council approved the drivers’ petition for an P8-minimum fare for the first three kilometers, despite a series of price rollbacks on petroleum products.
City Councilor Junard Chan, who chairs the transportation committee, said the new rate is fair to all sectors because tricycle drivers also need to cope with the increase in the prices of basic commodities and motorcycle spare parts.
The total cut in the price per liter for gasoline reached P7.50 last week, while the rollback for diesel prices totaled P6.
This, after the three giant oil players in the country, Petron, Shell and Caltex Philippines again dropped the prices of their products by P2 beginning Thursday last week.
To collect the new fare rate, a driver needs a copy of the new tariff to guide commuters, particularly students and senior citizens who are entitled discounts.
Apart from raising the tricycle fare, the City Council also approved the creation of a special body that will study the continuing drop in prices of petroleum products and the prices of spare parts.
“If the special body finds out that the reason for the increase has ceased to exist, we will go back to the old P7 minimum fare,” Vice Mayor Mario Amores said in a separate interview.
Since 2006, the minimum fare for tricycle passengers was fixed at P7 for the first three kilometers, with the public market in Barangay Poblacion as the point of origin.
The Lapu-Lapu City Tricycle Operators and Drivers Association, which has 3,500 members, filed the petition to increase fare rates last July yet.
Amores said they opted to approve the increase because the rollback in prices of petroleum products did not have an effect on the prices of basic commodities yet. (AIV)
