LTFRB: Dec fare rollback possible By Katherine Evangelista
INQUIRER.net 0/15/2008
MANILA, Philippines -- There is a “good chance†of a jeepney and bus fare rollback by December due to the continuing decline of oil prices, an official of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said Wednesday.
Lawyer Emmanuel A. Mahipos, LTFRB executive director and concurrent regional director for the National Capital Region, said while transport and consumer groups have agreed to a fare rollback, they have yet to determine how much the cut should be.
“Based on the discussions with the petitioner and the transport groups, they agree on reducing the fare, but they just don’t agree on how much,†Mahipos said.
The National Council for Commuters Protection (NCCP) filed a petition for a P1.50 fare rollback for the first four kilometers for jeepneys and P2 for the first five kilometers for buses, Mahipos said.
If granted, the fare rollback will bring back the basic jeepney fare from P8.50 to P7 for the first four kilometers, while the first five kilometers for ordinary buses will drop from P10 to P8, and air-conditioned buses from P12 to P10, Mahipos said.
Last June, the LTFRB approved a P2 fare increase for ordinary and air-conditioned buses and a P1 hike for jeepneys based on the benchmark price of diesel of P52 per liter that time, Mahipos said.
The fare adjustment requested by the NCCP is based on the assumption that diesel prices will drop to P44 per liter, Mahipos said.
He added that transport groups disagree on the benchmark to base a fare rollback on, with some insisting that oil companies reduce diesel prices to P38 per liter before any adjustments.
Nevertheless, at the current diesel price of P47 per liter, transport groups are willing to rollback fares by P.50, he said.
But he also said the fare adjustment sought by the NCCP might not be granted.
“The board has to evaluate these as to the merits. Ayaw natin na [We don’t want that] we drastically impose a reduction. There are other factors to consider in the cost of operation,†Mahipos said.
Mahipos said the fare rollback will be based on the current trend of fuel prices and the operation costs of transport operators.
The LTFRB is set to hear the group’s petition on November 4. Oil companies will be asked to present data on the trending of fuel prices at the hearing, Mahipos said.
There has been no petition yet to roll back taxi fares, since the majority of taxicabs run on liquefied petroleum gas, which has a different price trending than regular fuel, Mahipos said.
By next year, the LTFRB will require taxi operators to install meter receipts in compliance with a Supreme Court ruling.
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