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By James Konstantin Galvez, Reporter
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board assured the
public that they can expect another fare rollback before Christmas
as oil prices continued to ease in international markets.
In a statement over the weekend, Thompson
Lantion, the chairman of the transportation board, said that as
world crude prices continued plunging, the pressure will be great on
local transport groups for a fare rollback.
According to him, the board expects jeepney
operators and consumer groups to come to an agreement on December 3
when they tackle the petition for a fare rollback.
“If there is no opposition, we can get another
rollback. Unfortunately, some bus operators are not so open to the
idea,” Lantion said.
He added that the jeepney operators have
agreed to cut their minimum fare if diesel prices hit the P35 to
P37a liter price range.
In early November, the transportation
board ordered a fare rollbacks to P8 from P8.50 for the first four
kilometers for public utility jeepneys, to P9 from P10 for the first
five kilometers for ordinary buses and to P11 from P12 for
air-conditioned buses.
The National Council for Commuters
Protection Inc. has sought not only a reduction of jeepney and bus
fares but also the abolition of the P10 compulsory tip imposed on
taxi riders across the country.
The group based its petition on the dramatic
plunge in world crude prices breaching the $50 a barrel in Asia on
Friday, down from the July all-time high of $147 a barrel as
plunging stock markets, driven down by more bad US economic news,
battered investor confidence.
The transportation board said that because
of the falling world crude prices, diesel prices have gone down 13
times since July for a cumulative cut of P17.50 a liter and
gasoline, 14 times for a cumulative cut of P16.50 a liter.
Transport group Pasang Masda earlier said
that it would file a petition to reduce the minimum fare once diesel
prices go down to the P35 a liter level.
Pasang Masda chairman Obet Martin said an
additional fare cut can be expected if diesel prices reach P30 a
liter.
The group will lead a protest action
against major oil firms Shell, Petron and Caltex next week to
pressure the Big 3 to implement a one-time hefty price cut.
A taxi operators group opposes any plan me
to do way with the P10 add-on fare on top of the regular fare
imposed on taxi riders.
Lawyer and Quezon City Councilor Jesus
Suntay, also the president of Philippine National Taxi Operators
Association, said scrapping the P10 added to the regular taxi fare
is not timely because taxi operators and even taxi drivers have a
hard time earning enough income.
He added that as the president of the
biggest group of taxi operators in the country with 12,000 members,
he will appeal to the transportation board to reconsider the
scrapping of the P10 add-on fare.
Lantion had said that the transportation
board is in favor of scrapping the add-on fare. He cited the prices
of liquefied petroleum gas, or LPG, which have been going down. Many
taxis are using LPG.
Lantion added that the add-on fare was only
temporary and it could be scrapped by the agency when gasoline and
LPG prices fall significantly.
The add-on fare was imposed in July when
the transportation board approved a 50-centavo increase in the
minimum fare for jeepneys and P1 for buses.
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