INQUIRER FILE PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines — Call it a case of “1-2-3″ (cheating) in the Philippine National Railways (PNR).
At least P7 million a month is lost to passengers who do not pay the correct fare of the PNR, an official told lawmakers on Wednesday.
General Manager Joseph Allan Dilay told the House of Representatives transportation committee that at least 30,000 passengers per day do not pay the tickets to ride the PNR, the state-owned agency that operates the Luzon railway system.
Some of these passengers also buy tickets for a lower fare even if they go down at a greater distance than what they paid for, Dilay said.
“Those who do not buy the tickets just kept on riding the trains… Some even buy the minimum fare at P10 but they board off the train at the terminal station, which needs a P25 fare,” Dilay explained in Filipino.
Dilay said they estimated that at least 130,000 riders daily use the PNR. Of this number, at least 30,000 or 23 percent are “cheating” passengers.
To plug this “leakage” of passengers who cheat on PNR, the railways plan to implement an automated ticketing system by next year, Dilay said.
The PNR currently implements a manual ticketing system similar to the handing out of tickets in buses upon payment.
The PNR currently operates commuter lines from Tutuban to Sta. Rosa, Laguna (covering 23 stations over a stretch of 50 kilometers) and from Naga to Sipocot (with route length of 35 kilometers).
The long-distance service to Legazpi, Bicol has been suspended in October 2012 because of typhoon-damaged bridges. But according to PNR, it plans resuming the service by September 2014 with a test run by next month.
The PNR was allowed by a Senate panel to extend its corporate life by another 25 years as the law states it only has until June 19 this year to operate.
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