PUJ, bus fares to rise next week

The government is set to announce next week a provisional rate increase for public jeepneys and buses nationwide due to the steady rise in fuel prices.

But Cebu operators won’t be benefit from this because they haven’t filed a petition yet, said Manuel Iway, member of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).

A separate bid to increase taxi flag down rates will be tackled after the Holy Week, said Iway.

He said a petition for a PUJ fare increase in Cebu has to be subjected to a public hearing by the LTFRB region 7 office first, which would make its recommendation to the central office in Manila.

Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of the Cebu Integrated Transport Services Cooperative (Citrasco), said his group will file on Tuesday or Wednesday a petition for P1.50 fare increase from the current minimum fare P7.50 for the first five kilometers.

If approved, the minimum fare in Metro Cebu will be P9.

Yu said the amount is fair because diesel now costs P47 to P48 per liter and maintenance cost have gone up.

Yu said operators may not push on with the petition if a P3 price rollback is declared or the government provides a long-term program that will cushion the impact of the fuel price increases.

Yu said Citrasco is not satisfied with the government’s Pantawid Pasadang Program, wherein drivers are given cards loaded with P1,050 worth of free fuel.

Yu said a provisional increase of P0.50 would only legalize the current practice of drivers collecting P8 instead of the P7.50 minimum fare because of lack of loose coins.

LTFRB was supposed to announce the P0.50 centavos provisional fare increase for jeepneys yesterday but Iway said it was decided to release it together with the new bus fare rates next week.

Transport groups in Metro Manila or National Capital Region, Regions 3 and 4 asked for a P2 increase from the P8 minimum fare for jeepneys for the first 4 kilometers and P1.75 for every succeeding kilometer from the current P1.40.

Bus drivers and operators asked for a P12 minimum fare for the first 5 kilometers from the current P9 and P1.70 for every succeeding kilometer from the current P1.40.

The Philippine National Taxi Operations Association (PNTOA) also filed this week a petition to increase the flag-down rate to P50 from the current P40 and P4.50 from P3.50 for every succeeding 300 meters.

Citrasco is supporting the petition and will not file a separate one.

Businesses are feeling the pinch of rising fuel costs.

It has increased the cost of logistics, mobilization and handling, said Mandaue Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Eric Ng Mendoza .

“To attain better efficiency, some implemented full truckload deliveries to consolidate goods and stocks.”

He said some business operators turned to alternative fuel like coconut husk instead of bunker fuel for their boilers.

Mendoza said his own business operation cost has shot up by 5 percent to 10 percent.

Cebu Business Club president Gordon Alan Joseph said enterprises have to adjust to this hard reality.

“Rising fuel prices are here to stay. Businesses have no choice but to rebudget for the increasing expenses and try to control their demand through increased logistical efficiencies, equipment maintenance, improved monitoring of consumption and the like,” said Joseph.with reporter aileen Garcia-Yap, and UC Intern Jestine Marie D. Lerit