Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Transport groups seek reopening of discount lanes
ARAYAT -- Transport groups in this town are seeking the reopening of lanes where drivers of public utility jeepneys (PUJs) get an additional P1 per liter discount before the rollback on the prices of gas and diesel on August 1.
Pump prices of gasoline products and diesel were recently slashed by P1 and P.50 per liter, respectively.
But members of the Arayat-Sta. Ana Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association (Asajoda) here are perplexed with sudden closure of discount lanes of gas stations along the route, which they regularly ply. The discount lanes were apparently closed after a string of price increases in the past months and after fare increases were approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
"If you sum it up, the P1 per liter discount we got before was very helpful to us. It is additional fill for us who ply long routes," a member of Asajoda said.
As of 8 a.m. Tuesday, however, a couple of Shell stations in the area have reopened their discount lanes. Sun.Star checked and noted that the pump meter of these stations indicated a P56.24 per liter price. Signs of the discount lanes have yet to be reinstalled although, as these, according to the station's forecourt supervisor, have been pulled down during the last price increase.
Other gas stations have yet to follow suit as they await "advice from their main offices," a Petron dealer said.
The same sentiment regarding the discount lanes can be heard from other transport groups in Mexico and City of San Fernando, where their members, according to officials of these transport associations, "had no choice but to fill up in the nearest station, even without the discount." (JTDL)
