LTFRB warns jeepney drivers who can’t wait for fare hike

SIMPLE STRATEGY | The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board says it can check if jeepney drivers are still complying with the current fare matrix by just asking passengers at random. (NIÑO JESUS ORBETA / PHILIPPINE DAILY INQUIRER)

MANILA, Philippines — Jeepney drivers charging their passengers more than the P9 minimum fare risk paying thousands of pesos in fines or, if caught more than once, face cancellation of their franchise, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) warned on Wednesday.

LTFRB Executive Director Maria Kristina Cassion said the agency would tap its own enforcement unit and those from the Interagency Council for Traffic, which includes the Land Transportation Office, the Philippine National Police and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, in apprehending overcharging jeepney drivers.

Instead of assigning the enforcers in specific locations on jeepney routes, Cassion said the enforcers would instead ask passengers at random whether or not they were charged the minimum fare.

“That can be done, [the enforcers can] randomly check with the passengers to ask them how much they paid,” Cassion told the Inquirer in a text message.

As of Wednesday, Cassion said the LTFRB has not received any formal complaint about jeepney drivers refusing to give a P1 change to passengers paying P10 for the P9 minimum fare, adding that they see and hear reports of such overcharging only from the press.

“For those overcharging, it is considered as a breach of franchise condition,” Cassion said.

Jeepney drivers and operators face stiff penalties for overcharging. For the first offense, a citation ticket will be issued to the driver and this will serve as a “summons” for them to go to the LTFRB central office in Quezon City.

Should the driver own up to overcharging, they can pay the P5,000 in fine or, if they contest it, a hearing will be scheduled by the LTFRB.

A second offense entails a fine of P10,000 and impoundment of the vehicle, while the third and subsequent violations carry a fine of P15,000 and suspension or cancellation of the franchise.

Harsh fines

Describing the set of penalties as “cruel,” a group of jeepney drivers and operators assured the public that it would not tolerate drivers who overcharge their passengers.

“The penalties and fines are cruel and too heavy for a regular jeepney driver, and that is why this should serve as a warning to all drivers out there,” said Ricardo Rebaño, national president of the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap).

So far, he said Fejodap has not received any complaint accusing its members of overcharging their passengers.

Rebaño called on all jeepney drivers, regardless of their groups, to wait for the resolution on the petition to increase the minimum fare.

“We may be facing hardships right now, but a solution that can help us may come soon enough,” Rebaño said.

Cassion reiterated that the current minimum fare remained at P9, pending an LTFRB resolution on the provisional fare increase as petitioned by some transport groups that cited the dramatic increase in oil prices.

The LTFRB on Tuesday said the petition to increase the minimum fare to P10 was already up for resolution and an order could be issued “in a matter of days.”

Other transport groups have filed fare hike petitions of P3 to P5, which the LTFRB will hear on March 22.

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