New P50 taxi flagdown rate in Cordillera draws mixed reactions

The new P50 flagdown rate for taxicabs in the Cordillera region, especially in Baguio where these are a major mode of transportation, is drawing mixed reactions from both the passengers and drivers. (Photo by Jethro Bryan Andrada)

BAGUIO CITY — Passengers and taxi drivers in this city are in disagreement about the new P50-flagdown rate for taxis nationwide, which was authorized by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) last month.

The newly approved P50 rate stemmed from a motion for reconsideration filed by the Philippine National Taxi Operators’ Association and other cab drivers’ groups in October 2022, arguing that there was a need to increase the base fare due to increasing inflation, cost of living and taxi operation costs.

The taxi associations also stressed that the P5 increase in the flagdown rate that was previously imposed in September 2022 was “grossly insufficient and will result in a diminution of compensation to the drivers.”

In the last increase in flagdown rate, taxis in the Cordillera region were P5 behind their counterparts in the rest of the country, as barangays in the region were usually within the 4- to 6-kilometer range and air conditioners were not frequently used.

Some commuters think that the increase in flagdown rate is too big of a jump, especially in the Cordillera where the increase would be P10 in base fare.

“It’s too steep, especially for people who avail of such services at night,” Katrina Murla, a law student at Saint Louis University, said in an online interview.

Murla added that sometimes, taxi drivers would even “negotiate with their passengers for an extra five or ten pesos on top of the metered fare,” especially if it was late at night or raining.

But some taxi drivers said the new rate would be a welcome increase in profit, especially given the rising prices of gasoline.

READ: Taxi group seeking fare hike; provisional is OK

“It’s better since gas prices are so high now. We need that extra P5 to at least offset gas prices,” Darwin Rebollido, a taxi driver, added in Filipino.

Rebollido also explained that from his earnings of about P1,800 a day from a 24-hour driving shift, a large portion of it would be allotted for gasoline, which regularly amounts to about P2,000.

Cesar Labiano, a taxi driver for 56 years, said that apart from gas, they also had to split their earnings to pay for other expenses such as vehicle maintenance. He added that this usually left drivers with around P400 to P500 only.

“You earn P4,000, then you gas up for P1,500, then you pay P1,500 for your boundary, so you have P1,000 left, but you also have to pay for car washes, your food, and your snacks. That leaves you with about P500 or P400,” he explained in Filipino.

Labiano said, however, that the increase in the flagdown rate is unnecessary since some kind passengers give them extra pay anyway.

“I don’t think the fare hike is necessary since a lot of the people in Baguio who ride taxis are very generous. When you try to give them change, they tell you to keep it instead,” he added in Filipino. INQ