MANILA — Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Martin Delgra III on Tuesday said they will review the fees being imposed on public utility jeepney (PUJ) operators and drivers to secure the fare matrix which will enable them to impose the PHP10 minimum fare.
“Nadatnan na po natin ‘yan nung pagpasok natin na matagal na rin pala na regulatory fee. ‘Pag may decision na fare adjustment na pinal, meron babayaran offhand. Kailangan tignan uli ‘yang policy na ‘yan (When we took over, there have been a long-standing policy for a regulatory fee. When there is a final decision on fare hike adjustments, there needs to be paid offhand. We need to look at that policy again)”, Delgra said in a radio interview .
PUJ operators and drivers have been complaining that they need to pay a PHP610 fee for the fare matrix.
The LTFRB currently imposes a PHP510 for new certificates of public convenience, PHP40 for franchise verification, PHP50 for fare matrix and PHP10 for legal research fee. The collected fees go to the National Treasury.
To date, the Board has issued its fare matrix to 2,365 jeepney drivers and operators in the National Capital Region, Central and Southern Luzon to reflect the PHP10 minimum jeepney fare which took effect last November 2.
The LTFRB has warned jeepney drivers found charging the increased fare without the new matrix will be apprehended for overcharging.
Meanwhile, Delgra said there is a possibility of a fare rollback depending on its review of the current jeepney fare.
“Possible bumalik sa dating pamasahe. Depende sa galaw ng krudo. Ang galaw sa pagtataas ng pasahe, almost always ang pinagbabasehan ang galaw ng krudo. Ngayon, tinitignan din natin ang inflation, consumer price index. All those things are being considered (It’s possible to revert to the previous jeepney fares again. It depends on the movement of crude oil prices. Fare hike petitions almost always depend on the movement of crude price. Now, we are also looking at inflation [and] the consumer price index. All those are being considered),” he said.
The LTFRB is conducting the review in compliance with the directive of Department of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade that fares must be based on a predetermined matrix that will set clear guidelines when these should be increased or lowered.
Tugade directed the LTFRB to come up with a parametric formula so that fare adjustments would become automatic rather than rely on petitions.
The LTFRB has approved last October 18 a PHP2 increase in the minimum jeepney fare from PHP8 to PHP10 in Metro Manila, Central Luzon and Southern Luzon.
The petition for the jeepney fare hike was filed in September last year, citing higher fuel prices. (/PNA)
