Cebu bus operators complain of increased terminal fee

Barely two days after new rates  took effect, mini-bus operators  complained about the P200 fee charged for each bus that uses the  Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT), which is double the old rate.
Julieto Flores, president of the Cebu Mini-Bus Operators Association (CMBOA), said they will file a petition on Monday to reduce the terminal fee.
The request will be addresed to Cebu Gov Gwendolyn Garcia, who scrapped the P5 terminal fee for passengers on Oct. 31  and instead doubled the rate for bus units.
Flores said  the objection was joined by  Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association president, Richard Corominas after their meeting yesterday. .
“Now it’s our turn to ask something from the governor,” he told Cebu Daily News.
Flores said about 100 mini-buses use  the terminal daily.  Each mini-bus enters the terminal thrice a day for different trips.
Flores said a 20 percent increase in fees was reasonable but doubling the rate or a 100 percent increase was too much.
If their request can’t be granted, Flores said operators will have to  petition the  Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to reinstate the 2008 fare matrix which allows buses to charge  commuters P8.50 for the first five kilometers and an additional P1.45 for succeeding kilometers.
At present, bus companies undercollect the official rate and charge  only P6 for the first five kilometers and P1.20 for succeeding kilometers, a reflection of stiff competition among bus lines in the province.
The governor said her administration is looking at options after lifting the P5 terminal fee charged to passengers.
She said buses were charged P100 for five years now.
Flores said they told the governor their concerns in a meeting  last  week and  that she said she would elevate this matter to the Economic Enterprise Council (EEC), which she heads.
The province earns P1.5 million a month from  passenger terminal fees under the old collection scheme of P5 per passenger.
The governor removed the P5 fee which took effect last Oct. 31.   Passenger complaints about the  P5  terminal fee were  an election issue raised by Garcia’s rivals  in the 2010 local election.
The timing of the decision to scrap it, a few weeks after the filing of certificates of candidacy for the May 2013 election , benefited thousands who travel by bus to their hometowns for  All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day.