CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY — With the implementation of fare increase for taxicabs, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-10 (LTFRB-10) has urged the riding public to be vigilant against uncalibrated taxi meters.
This after the LTFRB central office recently approved the petition of taxi operators nationwide to add several pesos to the prevailing fare.
LTFRB-10 Director Aminoden Guro said taxi operators, who have not calibrated their taxi meters, cannot charge passengers with the new fare. He advised the riding public to check the meters of the taxi before paying the additional charge.
In the new LTFRB order, the flag-down rate for taxicabs remains at P40, but passengers will now pay P13.50 for every kilometer, instead of P3.50 per 300 meters. Drivers can now also charge P2 per minute for the waiting time.
To ensure that taxi drivers and operators comply with the order, Guro said taxi meters must be calibrated by private companies, and the units must be checked by LTFRB first before they are allowed to operate.
The LTFRB has decided to implement the increase based on the petition of the drivers and operators who are complaining of higher fuel prices, the traffic congestion in Manila, and the revival of operation of the ride-hailing services, such as Grab and Uber, especially in the National Capital Region.
According to the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association, the fare hike for taxis is long overdue as the last increase was in 2010.
The group said taxi operators are also suffering from financial hardship due to “record-low levels of dispatch and increases in spare parts prices and other expenses.”
Ringo Lago, secretary-general of the transport group Solidarity of Transport in Region X-Pagkakaisa ng Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (Starex-Piston), described the fare hike as “very laudable”.
However, Lago also called on the administration to do something to solve the plight of the public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers. At the root of the transport workers’ suffering, he said, is the scrapping of the oil deregulation law.
The enactment of Republic Act 8479, or the Oil Deregulation Law, in 1998, led to the non-interference of the government with the pricing, export and importation of oil products, among other provisions. (PNA/Jigger J. Jerusalem)
