Friday, November 07, 2008 Minimum fare back to P7.50 starting Friday By Carlo P. Mallo
ROLLBACK on jeepney fares will be implemented in Davao City starting Friday, based on the decision issued by the Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Southern Mindanao.
The minimum fare will go back to P7.50 whereas students, the elderly and disabled persons will only have to pay P6.
In an interview, Edgar Violan, LTFRB Southern Mindanao administrative officer, said the rollback on the fare rates would have to be implemented by the drivers starting Friday.
"Per LTFRB decision under case number 2008-1654, effective November 7, the provisional fare for the first four kilometers for public utility jeepneys was reduced by P0.50," Violan said. "So from P8 it is now only P7.50."
But due to the provisional nature of the rollback, the reduction in fares is only applied to the minimum fare rates, and not on the succeeding kilometers.
"There are no changes on the charges for the succeeding kilometers," Violan added.
As for the elderly, students, and disabled passengers, Violan said the 20 percent discount would still be enforced on the reduced fare rates.
"They only have to pay P6 for the first four kilometers," Violan said.
The LTFRB central office issued the decision after hearing a petition filed by the National Consumer and Commuters Protection Inc. asking the agency to implement a rollback following a slump in the prices of crude oil in the world market.
"This is also the answer to the series of rollbacks implemented by oil companies in their diesel and gasoline," Thompson Lantion, LTFRB chief, told reporters last Tuesday.
In its petition, the NCCPI argued for a fare rollback as it noted the dramatic plunge of oil prices in the international market from as high as US$147 per barrel to below US$65 as of Thursday.
On the local front, the slump in oil prices was felt after the three major oil companies, dubbed as the "Big Three", and reduced diesel prices by P5 per liter last week.(CPM)
