With how the economy works nowadays, it is to be expected that almost the price of everything goes up at the same time that our salaries go up as well.
If you weren't aware, our president just recently signed a new law increasing the salary of those who are working in the government sector. At the same time, here comes the petition of the P10 minimum jeepney fare.
Although they are not quite related this time but it’s really quite coincidental that both almost happened at the same time. If you aren't in the know, here is a little on the backstory of it all.
P10 Minimum Jeepney Fare
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) received a petition from transport groups to increase the fare hike of public utility vehicles (PUJs) just today.
In the petition, it was stated that jeepney drivers are requesting to bring back the P10 minimum jeepney fare which was implemented back in the year 2018. It was, however, returned to P9 which is the current minimum fare that we are experiencing now.
Who filed the petition?
The groups that filed the petition were Pasang Mazda, Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations, Land Transportation Organization of the Philippines, Federation of Jeepney Operators and Driver Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP) and Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines Inc.
A day back, before the official request was filed in office, the LTFRB met with the leaders of the said transport groups to discuss their proposal on the said Increase.
Martin Delgra, LTFRB Chairman, already made a statement about the petition as well. He said that the fare adjustments cannot be made carelessly; it needs careful thought and consideration. In addition to that, he said that these need to have proper grounds for this to be approved.
The agency is on top of this. Of course, the livelihood of drivers and operators depend on their daily trips. But they have to understand that we have to study the data we have before implementing any changes.”
If by any case that the provisional hike is approved, the transport groups are also looking for a P2 increase in minimum fare for places like the National Capital Region, Mimaropa and Central Luzon.
On top of that, they are also requesting the LTFRB for a raise in the per kilometer rate that we have right now which is P1.50, to P2 after the first four kilometers
The leaders of the transport groups mentioned that the increase would be fair for drivers. It would greatly help them out amid the price of diesel going up in the price market and even locally due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion Law (TRAIN).
A little background about how the TRAIN law affects the current pricing is as follows;
With the start of 2020, last and final tranche of the excise tax increase on fuel production under TRAIN took effect. Under the final tranche, the tax for kerosene and gasoline will increase from P1 per liter while diesel on the other hand will increase by P1.50
This means that the excise tax on fuel products from 2017 has increased at about a total of P10 per liter ever since the TRAIN law took effect.
The final increase would only take effect on new stocks that would be purchased off the market from January 1, but the thing is it’s hard to track and say whether this is properly monitored.
Zeny Maranan, the leader of FEJODAP, said that they are expecting the prices of diesel to go up to P50 per liter because of the issue that the US and Iran had.
On top of that, he mentioned that they are aware that the LTFRB bases the fare matrix on oil prices but they are insisting that they need to consider the taxes as well and must be added on the basis.
The fare pf P9 right now was a revision that was approved by LTFRB way back 2018 which was to increase the minimum fare from P8 to P9. There was also a time that year that the minimum fare reached P10 (sometime in October) but was revoked December that year as well.
So, what do you think about the petition filed? Do you think overall, it’s a fair request? It might sound unfair for those whom are riding jeepneys on a daily basis but with all the details given, it makes sense why they are requesting this. The decision though, would now be up to LTFRB.
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