MANILA, Philippines?The government plans to push through with the fare hike at Metro Manila?s train lines this year, but the implementation has been deferred to give way for additional consultations.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) approved on Thursday the restructuring of Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT).

LRT Authority (LRTA) spokesman Hernando Cabrera said the fare hike was deferred to allow for additional consultations with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

He said under its charter, the LRTA is required to consult with the LTFRB, which can only make recommendations but not amend the fares, before any adjustment is implemented.

Cabrera said the revised fare scheme would also have to be published in a newspaper 15 days before the implementation. The DOTC originally planned to have the fare hike by the beginning of next month?a target that is now impossible to hit.

Cabrera declined to speculate as to when the fare hike could be implemented, saying it would depend on how fast the consultations with the LTFRB go.

Under the new fare scheme, passengers of the LRT lines 1 and 2 will have to shell out a boarding fee of P11. They will also be charged another P1 for every kilometer.

However, single journey tickets will be sold in only P15, P20 and P30 denominations. This means that short trips of about four kilometers will cost P15, five to nine kilometers will cost P20, and P30 for trips longer than this.

The denominations were chosen to facilitate the giving of change to passengers and therefore, a fast turnover at the line.

Those that buy P100 stored value (SV) tickets will be able to use the full value of their tickets.

Fare on the LRT line 1 will cost a maximum of P30 for the entire 20-kilometer ride (from Baclaran to Roosevelt) while the LRT line 2 will have a ceiling of P25 for 14 kilometers (from Recto to Santolan).