|
STARTING
Wednesday, the minimum fare for passenger jeepneys will
be P8.
This,
after the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory
Board (LTFRB) acceded to the plea of transport groups to
increase the minimum fare in the midst of the spiraling
prices of petroleum products.
LTFRB
Chairman Thompson Lantion signed on Sunday a directive
on the provisional increase of fares in Metro Manila,
Central Luzon
and Southern Tagalog that has been split into the
Calabarzon (Cavite-Laguna-Batangas-Rizal-Quezon) and
Mimaropa (Mindoro-Marinduque-Romblon-Palawan) regions.
Minimum
fare in public utility jeepneys will be increased to P8
from P7.50, while fares in ordinary buses will be raised
to P9 from P8 and for air-conditioned buses P11.50 from
P10.
However,
the petition of the Association of Taxi Operators in
Metro Manila (Atomm), headed by Leonora Naval for a P10
additional on the flag-down rate was not included in the
increase.
Lantion
said the provisional increase of 50 centavos would only
be applied to minimum fares for the first five
kilometers of every trip.
Meanwhile, Zeny Maranan, president of the Federation of
Jeepney Operators and Drivers Organizations of the
Philippines (Fejodap), expressed gratitude for the
directive of the LTFRB for provisional fare increase.
“Nagpapasalamat
kami kay Chairman Lantion sa pagbibigay niya ng
50-centavo provisional fare increase sa mga
pampublikong sasakyan, partikular sa hanay ng mga
jeepneys, kailangan-kailangan na talaga itong ibigay
ng LTFRB upang kahit paano ay tumaas ang kita ng
mga driver,” Maranan said.
Lantion
also has warned public-utility vehicle drivers and
public transport owners to grant the 20-percent fare
discount to senior citizens and students.
“Pinapaalalahanan
namin ang lahat ng tsuper ng mga pampublikong sasakyan
sa Metro Manila, at Regions 3 and 4 na dapat
nilang ipagkaloob ang 20 porsyentong diskuwento
sa mga senior citizen at estudyante dahil ito ay
naaayon sa batas, Lantion said. |
