Jeepney groups divided on ‘surge pricing’ petition

A militant transport group is opposing a petition filed by another organization asking the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to allow surge pricing in jeepneys during rush hour.

Piston president George San Mateo warned that the scheme would only pave the way for the phaseout of old jeepney units and cause confusion among passengers.

San Mateo called on the LTFRB to dismiss the surge-pricing scheme sought by the Kilusan sa Pagbabago ng Industriya ng Transportasyon (Kapit), calling it an “impractical” proposal.

“This surge-pricing scheme is meant to push for the corporatization of jeepneys to be monopolized by few big fleet management corporations, which we strongly oppose because it will not only phase out [old] jeepney units but also small jeepney operators,” San Mateo said on Friday.

In Kapit’s petition, brand-new jeepneys or those registered with the Land Transportation Office only last year would be entitled to a P1 fare adjustment for the first four kilometers, from 5 a.m. to 8 a.m. and from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This is similar to the surge pricing implemented by Uber and Grab.

But San Mateo argued that “what we need is cheaper petroleum prices that can be had through state regulation and a nationalization of the oil industry, the removal of high government fees and taxes on small operators and drivers, and government subsidy to help rehabilitate [old] jeepney units.”   TVJ