THE fare hike approved by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) for almost all public utility vehicles will take effect on Monday, October 3, 2022.

In a press conference, DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said the new fare matrix must be posted inside public utility vehicles (PUVs), for the information of the public, before they can implement the pay increase.

He said they will beef up their monitoring to ensure that drivers and operators follow the guidelines.

Bautista, however, sought the understanding of the public, saying that the fare hike is already long overdue.

“Napakaliit ng kinikita nila dahil presyo ng gasolina, maintenance. Dahil may inflation, kailangan din natin ng increase ng pamasahe, matagal na sila nanghihingi pero dahil nagkaroon ng pandemya, hindi natin binigyan ng increase para hindi mahirapan mga pasahero,” he said.

(They earn very little because of the price of fuel and maintenance. Because there is inflation, we also need an increase in fares, they have been asking for a long time but because there was a pandemic, we did not give an increase so that passengers would not suffer.)

The minimum fares following the fare increase were:

*P12 for traditional jeepneys with additional P1.80 for every succeeding kilometer

*P14 for modern jeepneys with additional P2.20 for every succeeding kilometer

*P13 for ordinary buses with additional P2.25 for every succeeding kilometer

*P15 for air-conditioned buses with additional P2.65 for every succeeding kilometer

*P45 flag down for taxis

*P55 flag down for AUV/SUV type transport network vehicle service (TNVS)

*P35 flagdown for hatchback-type TNVS

(SunStar Philippines)