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Saturday, August 06, 2005
Bus fares to be cut by P.50
CEBU CITY -- Commuters to and from southern Cebu will now enjoy cheaper fares than what bus operators implemented starting last August 1.
The agreement to lower the rates was reached Friday, in a two-hour meeting that Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia called with 33 bus operators using the Cebu South Bus Terminal.
"We will have the cheapest fare rate in the entire country," said Capitol legal counsel Rory John Sepulveda.
Last Aug. 1, operators implemented the P6 rate for the first five kilometers and P1.10 for each succeeding kilometer. The previous rate was P5 for the first five kilometers and P0.50 for the following kilometer.
But after the meeting Friday, the fare rate will now be P5.50 for the first five kilometers and P0.85 for each subsequent kilometer.
The new rate will be applied to all, which means senior citizens and students will no longer enjoy the 20 percent discount.
"Because with this new rate, it is like giving a discount to everybody," Director Rogelio Osmeña of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 told the group.
The new rate will also apply to Ceres buses plying the northern route as they are also using the South Bus Terminal for their buses going to the north.
Also at the meeting were the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, the Land Transportation Office's Alex Leyson and officers of the Association of Concerned Commuters and Consumers (AC3).
The parties signed a memorandum of understanding and commitment, and this will be attached to the petition for the approval of the new rate. Capitol's legal office will file the petition before LTFRB Manila.
Sepulveda, in an interview, said the new rates will immediately be implemented by buses using the Cebu South Bus Terminal, a property of the Province of Cebu.
Sepulveda said the association of provincial bus operators must also police their ranks to make sure they all follow the agreed rate.
"If a member violates (the new rate), he must be expelled from the association, which means it can no longer use the terminal because the Province will only allow members of the association to use the terminal," he said.
But as soon as LTFRB Central Office approves the new rate, it will be considered the mandated rate of the entire Cebu Province.
The P6 rate for the first five kilometers and P1.10 for each succeeding kilometer was the rate that was approved on July 1 last year, but was only implemented earlier this month.
Bus operators opted to collect lower rates from passengers because of tough competition.
The approved rates last July 6 were P8.50 for the first five kilometers and P1.30 for each succeeding kilometer.
Notices on the new rates were posted in the bus terminal yesterday as well as in the buses.
Governor Garcia said in an interview that she wants the Province to play a stronger role in the association of bus operators.
She ordered legal officer Marino Martinquilla to look into the by-laws of the association to see if these conform with policies of the south bus terminal.
As to the minibuses plying the Cebu City-Carcar and Dalaguete routes, Garcia told them to form an association within two weeks so that they can go on using the south terminal.
"It's our policy that should prevail because they are using our facility," she said. The governor will meet the minibus operators after they have formed a group. (MBG/Sun.Star Cebu)
(August 6, 2005 issue)
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