THE committee on public utilities will hear on Friday, March 23, the motorela drivers' petition to increase its fares and determine whether or not the P1 increase is justifiable.
This came after the Alyansa-mP3 (Makatarunganong Usbaw, Pletehan alang sa Pamilya ug mga Pasahero) submitted a petition to repeal the City Ordinance 11670-2010 or the Fare Matrix 2010 and increase motorela fares from P6 to P7 for the minimum fare, from P5 to P6 for students and senior citizens, and from P2 to P3 for the kids.
The group said it is time to change the fare matrix which was last updated 8 years ago when it adds price increase of basic commodities minus the petroleum products.
According to mP3, the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (Train) Law forced the group to push the "long-overdue petition".
In their petition, the group said the average income of a motorela driver in a day is pegged at P200 to P300 when the average expenditures is at P505 per day.
"The P1 increase is not a burden to passengers. Motorela fares in Butuan, Surigao, Valencia are at P8 while Pagadian's minimum fare is at P10. Even if the council approves the P1, it would still not suffice the daily needs of our families," it adds.
The repeal should also trash the bracketing scheme of the matrix, it says. Under the existing fare matrix, a driver can ask a minimum of .50 centavos increase in fare depending on the price of petroleum products. The group said the ordinance should stick to the Minimum Fare Matrix, that is the P1 increase to all kinds of passengers.
The petition included 1,000 signatures from motorela drivers and operators from CMODA (Camaman-an Motorela Operators Drivers Association), MAODA (Macasandig Operators Drivers Association) COCOGAMODA (Consolacion-Cogon-Gaisano Motorela Operators Drivers Association), CAMASCAMODA (Aluba route), CONAMODA (Cogon Nazareth Motorela Operators Drivers Association), NAZRODA (Nazareth Motorela Operators Drivers Association), CAMODMACO (Carmen- Motorela Operators Drivers Association), MMODA (Macanhan Motorela Operators Drivers Assocation), Agora group, City High School group and Zayas group.
City Councilor Teodulfo Lao Jr., for his part, assured the commuters that before it will be approved, a public hearing will be conducted to ensure that all sectors will air their side on the proposal.
"We will see if the P1 increase is justifiable, is it okay for our commuters, or we will also study if a P1 increase in the fares is enough. We will also create a special task force to conduct comparative study on the prices," he said.
"We are seriously considering the request because we only want what is better for our people," he added.