COMMUTERS and a coalition of Cebu-based jeepney drivers oppose the recent fare hike, arguing that they are still grappling with financial burdens due to economic challenges.
For jeepney drivers, they believe the increase does not provide a concrete solution to the ongoing rise in fuel prices.
However, a group of modern jeepney companies in Cebu has welcomed the Land Transportation and Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) decision, which granted a provisional P1 increase in fares for both traditional and modern jeepneys nationwide on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2023.
Starting Sunday, Oct. 8, the minimum fare for traditional jeepneys will be P13 from P12, while the minimum fare for modern jeepneys will be P15 from P14.
The demand for these fare adjustments was due to the persistent surge in fuel prices over an 11-week period.
Concerns
Elviera del Mar, a 20-year-old nursing student, said the fare hike will have an impact on her meager budget. Despite attending a state university that collects no tuition, she still spent over P15,000 for school requirements last semester, which ended in May.
“Even a P1 increase is significant in the long run, especially since we have to pay for a lot of supplies as nursing students,” she said on Wednesday, Oct. 4.
Shiela Marie Manabat, a 22-year-old product specialist for a software company, said the extra P1 is burdensome, given that she commutes at least three times daily to and from work.
She said that as a fresh college graduate who is just starting her job, she has already taken on the role of being the breadwinner for her family. Thus, she has to manage her money wisely.
Not the answer
Gregory Perez, chairman of Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) Cebu, told SunStar Cebu on Tuesday that while the P1 fare hike can provide a slight relief for drivers, it is only a band-aid solution.
Perez said the Marcos administration should prioritize holding oil companies accountable for overcharging and to swiftly amend the Oil Deregulation Law.
Republic Act 8479, or the Downstream Oil Industry Deregulation Act of 1998, gave market forces the power to set prices for gasoline and petroleum products, and it was passed during President Fidel Ramos’s time, removing the Department of Energy’s authority to intervene in the domestic oil market.
While del Mar, Manabat and Perez complained against the fare increase, Ellen Maghanoy, president of the Federation of Cebu Transport Cooperatives, said the provisional fare hike is already a help, though not enough, to the operators of modern public jeepneys since they are suffering from the fuel price hikes, as well as slow revenue due to the heavy traffic in parts of Metro Cebu.
“If we look at it, the heavy traffic does not only occur along construction area of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) system in the downtown area, but the streets in the whole [Cebu] city, Mandaue City, and Lapu-Lapu City,” she said on Monday, Oct. 2.
In an interview last Sept. 29, Maghanoy said a modern jeepney can make at least eight round trips on its route in a day. But when it passes through the construction area of the CBRT, it can only make five rounds a day. According to her estimates, a modern public utility vehicle makes P1,500 to P2,000 per round trip.
Fare matrix
LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. told SunStar Cebu on Wednesday that jeepney drivers and operators should not collect the P1 fare hike if they have no fare matrix displayed inside their units.
Charging without the fare matrix on display is considered overcharging, which is an offense and punishable by law, he said.
According to LTFRB’s Joint Administrative Order 2014-01, penalties for overcharging are as follows: P5,000 for the first offense, P10,000 and a 30-day impoundment for the second offense, and P15,000 with the possibility of certificate of public convenience cancellation for the third offense.
The director said operators and drivers can get the fare matrix in their office for P50 a copy. The LTFRB 7 office is located along Gen. Echavez St., Cebu City.
Provisional increase
Reynaldo Elnar, chief transportation development officer of the LTFRB 7, said on Wednesday that the fare hike is only temporary, as the agency is still considering a petition for a P5 fare increase submitted by Pasang Masda, the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization, and the Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines.
The petition seeks to raise the base fare for traditional jeepneys from P12 to P17 for the first four kilometers, with an additional increase of P2.80 for each subsequent kilometer.
Elnar said that there is no specfic date yet when the agency will come up with a new decision or repeal the nationwide P1 provisional fare increase for both traditional and modern jeepneys.