UV Express group seeks fare hike; jeepney bloc eyes P12 minimum

After Grab and taxi operators, another transport group joins the TRAIN-driven clamor at the LTFRB. —JOAN BONDOC

More transport groups are seeking an increase in fares, citing higher oil prices resulting from the implementation of the Duterte administration’s tax reform program.

The UV Express group Code-X on Wednesday filed in the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) a petition to double the rate charged per kilometer, from the current P2 to P4.

This means that a passenger coming from Dasmariñas, Cavite province, going to SM Mall of Asia complex in Pasay City, for example, would be charged P120 from the current P60.

Meant to compensate

According to Rosalino Marable, Code-X’s national president, the increase would enable them to compensate for the expected rise in the price of fuel due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) Act, as well as in the price of auto spare parts and terminal fees at commercial centers.

Marable noted that it was the first time the group asked for a fare adjustment in over a decade, and that Code-X would be willing to “negotiate” with the LTFRB so as not to overburden commuters.

Wait till March

Earlier, the LTFRB said it expected a long, extensive deliberation on the various petitions for fare increase that the board received as the year began,  and that any ruling on the matter would have to wait till March.

Improvement

It stressed that any increase that the board would grant should have a corresponding improvement in terms of the service provided by operators of public utility vehicles.

Marable said one improvement being  considered by his group was the removal of middle seats in their vans to provide more comfort to passengers. The alteration would reduce a van’s seating capacity to 15 passengers at the most, from the current 18.

He added that they would also work on replacing old vans with new units.

Code-X is the fourth transport group to file a fare hike petition at the LTFRB. Earlier, transport network company Grab and the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association filed separate petitions that also cited the impact of the TRAIN Act.

From P2 to P4

Five jeepney transport groups also have a pending joint petition—filed in December last year, three months before TRAIN was approved—seeking a P2 increase in the minimum fare.

Zeny Maranan, president of Fejodap, one of the petitioners, on Wednesday said they intended to update their petition due to the new tax law and raise their demand to P4. If approved, the petition would put the minimum fare at P12.

Should the LTFRB grant their petition, the jeepney groups will no longer seek another fare adjustment once the Department of Transportation  (DOTr) compel operators to replace their units to comply with the DOTr’s jeepney modernization program, Maranan said.