MANILA, Philippines–Some jeepney drivers plying certain routes in Makati and the eastern part of Metro Manila are taking advantage of their passengers by charging them fares higher than those indicated in the fare matrix issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Starting on June 14, the LTFRB allowed jeepney drivers in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Tagalog regions to hike their minimum fares from P8 to P8.50. It also issued fare matrices to guide them on how much to charge their passengers for routes above the minimum distance of four kilometers.
Some of the jeepney drivers encountered by this writer, however, have been ignoring the LTFRB’s guidelines and charging their passengers around P1 to P3 more.
In two instances in Makati City, jeepney drivers plying the Leon Guinto (Manila) to Guadalupe (Makati City) route charged between P9.50 and P10 for a trip from A.R. Reyes (PRC) to Guadalupe.
According to the newly issued fare matrix, passengers making that four-kilometer-long trip should just pay the minimum fare of P8.50.
In eastern Metro Manila, this writer observed some jeepney drivers charging between P1.50 and P2.50 more than the fares set by the LTFRB.
On two instances, drivers charged P17 for the trip from Edsa-Crossing in Mandaluyong City to Ortigas Junction in Cainta, Rizal when according to the fare matrix, passengers should pay only P14.50.
On two other occasions, the jeepney drivers asked their passengers to pay P16.
Meanwhile, some jeepney drivers ferrying passengers from the Light Rail Transit Line 2 station in Santolan, Pasig City, to the Ortigas Junction in Cainta were charging between P13 and P14 for a trip that should cost only P11.50, again, based on the fare matrix.
The route is quite vital as thousands of residents from Rizal province and Marikina City ride on the LRT to work or school.
Whenever they were accosted by their passengers for overcharging, the jeepney drivers avoided talking about the fare matrix and insisted that they were just enforcing the rate hike allowed by the LTFRB.
Most of the time, however, the passengers just paid up. “You’ll just get into an argument with the jeepney driver if you do that,” said Doods Magos, a waiter from Quezon City who works in Rizal province.
Other passengers, however, refused to take the abuse sitting down.
In an incident witnessed by this reporter, a burly man who was protesting the additional P2 he was being charged struck the jeepney driver in the chest with his elbow.
Passengers who want to know if they are being overcharged can go to the LTFRB’s website at https://ltfrb.gov.ph/main/farerates#sth
ash.euWRHm7T.dpbs to see the fare matrix for the routes they take.