STARTING Monday, February 10, a jeepney ride in Northern Mindanao will cost P8.
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently approved the increase of the minimum fare for public utility jeepneys (PUJ) in the region from P7.50 to P8.
But LTFRB-Northern Mindanao Director Aminoden Guro said drivers and operators must secure first a fare matrix before asking commuters of the 50 cents increase in the minimum fare.
"Dili makasingil ang driver and operators sa jeep ug sa multicab (kay considered jeep man ang multicab) kung dili maglukat og taripa sa atong opisina (Drivers and operators of jeepneys and multicabs cannot ask for P8 if they do not have the fare matrix, which they can get from our office)," Guro said.
Guro said the fare adjustment only applies for the first four kilometers, as the succeeding kilometer is still at P1.40.
"Fifty cents lang ang increase. Ang reklamo sa mga driver kay P7 ra ang ginabayad sa mga pasahero imbes nga P7.50, so karon its P8 na," he added.
Guro said the fare increase was the result of the petition filed by PUJ operators and drivers last September 2018.
After the public consultation, the LTFRB-Northern Mindanao endorsed a P10 minimum fare to the central office as requested by the jeepney sector in the region.
"Ang ilang gipangayo sa ilang petition is P10 nga minimum fare, so mao atong gi-endorse, pero kay ang Manila P9 man ang naaprove sa ilang minimum fare, dili pwede nga mas dako ang sa provincial. Never nahitabo nga mas dako ang provinces kaysa NCR (They were asking for P10 minimum fare, so we endorsed it, but Manila only has P9 minimum fare, so it's not fine for the fare in the province to be higher. That never happened yet)," Guro said.
He said the last fare adjustment for PUJ in the region was in December 2008.
"After 11 years, karon pa nadugangan ang minimum fare sa PUJ," he said.