UV Express operators seek P2 per km fare hike
Published Jan 17, 2018 04:09 pm
By Alexandria Dennise San JuanÂ
A group of UV Express drivers and operators formally filed with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board Wednesday a petition for a P2 per kilometer fare increase, emphasizing that this was their first time to seek for a fare increase for more than 10 years.
The Coalition of Operators, Drivers, Employees, atbp, (CODE-X), an umbrella group of UV Express operators, filed the petition at the LTFRB office, more than a week after the agency warned them to go through the process first before charging higher fares to their passengers.
Commuters alight a UV Express at a loading station along EDSA North Ave in Quezon City
(Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN) CODE-X national president Lino Marable said their four-page petition paper listed eight points on why they are filing for a fare increase, but the reason mainly is the expected higher operating costs brought by the new tax reform law which took effect January 1 this year. The transport group said increasing costs of fuel, terminal fees, costs of spare parts, and even the cost of corruption or "payola" pushed them to file a petition for a fare hike. The UV Express Sector also reminded the board that they "has not filed nor lodged any subsequent petition for any fare hike" since the LTFRB granted them the P2 per kilometer fare charge in 2006. In the petition, they explained that this was because their sector was "rolled with the punches" whenever there were any increases in their operating expenses. The group also underscored that due to heavy traffic, the turnaround time has become less, from 8 trips a days down to at least 4 trips at present. With this, CODE-X said that it is "more than justified" to request the approval for an increase of P2 per kilometer or a total of P4 per kilometer. Earlier, airport taxi operators and ride-sharing service Grab filed a petition for a fare increase due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that would impose a P2.50 per liter excise tax on diesel which will gradually rise to P6 by 2020.
Commuters alight a UV Express at a loading station along EDSA North Ave in Quezon City(Mark Balmores / MANILA BULLETIN) CODE-X national president Lino Marable said their four-page petition paper listed eight points on why they are filing for a fare increase, but the reason mainly is the expected higher operating costs brought by the new tax reform law which took effect January 1 this year. The transport group said increasing costs of fuel, terminal fees, costs of spare parts, and even the cost of corruption or "payola" pushed them to file a petition for a fare hike. The UV Express Sector also reminded the board that they "has not filed nor lodged any subsequent petition for any fare hike" since the LTFRB granted them the P2 per kilometer fare charge in 2006. In the petition, they explained that this was because their sector was "rolled with the punches" whenever there were any increases in their operating expenses. The group also underscored that due to heavy traffic, the turnaround time has become less, from 8 trips a days down to at least 4 trips at present. With this, CODE-X said that it is "more than justified" to request the approval for an increase of P2 per kilometer or a total of P4 per kilometer. Earlier, airport taxi operators and ride-sharing service Grab filed a petition for a fare increase due to the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law that would impose a P2.50 per liter excise tax on diesel which will gradually rise to P6 by 2020.