LRT, MRT fare hike still possible within 2013, says DoTC chief

Metro Rail and Light Rail Transit Systems. FILE PHOTOS

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said it could still implement within 2013 a long-delayed rate increase for Metro Manila’s three railway lines, which would be the first hike in a decade, its top official said on Wednesday.

The move, which has been pushed back for years given stiff opposition, was planned in August, Transportation Secretary Joseph Abaya said earlier.

The department has been unable to increase rates because it wants to first conduct a public hearing—an exercise it has yet to schedule at this point.

“We are still waiting for a schedule for the public consultations,” Abaya told reporters on Wednesday, describing the prospect of hiking fares as still “possible.” He added that all stakeholders should be consulted.

He said the results of the public talks would determine any decision on the proposed increase of fares for the Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 and the Metro Rail Transit Line 3.

“The consultation will happen most likely this year,” Abaya said, while keeping mum on the issue whether a rate increase for 2013 would happen. “It’s possible,” he said.

The DOTC is not mandated to hold any public hearing but officials typically hold the consultations so all inputs are heard. The Light Rail Transit Authority in June approved the rate increase.

The rate increase, which could come in the form of equal hikes worth P5 this year and P5 next year, would help the government recover burdensome operating costs for the money-losing railway lines. The increase has been criticized by militant organizations as being anti-commuter.

The current fare at MRT, which runs through Edsa, Metro Manila’s main highway, is pegged at a maximum of P15 per passenger. For LRT 1, passengers are charged up to P20 each for a single journey; for LRT 2, the rate is pegged at P15.

The increase was also endorsed by President Aquino in his State of the Nation Address last July.

Abaya noted that it cost government P60 to ferry a single passenger from end to end at MRT—well above the P15 maximum ticket price. The difference is shouldered by the government as a subsidy, which amounts to billions of pesos every year.