The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said on Tuesday, Oct. 18, that it will study the petition filed by three transport groups to charge every commuter of a surge fee for both passenger jeepneys and passenger buses during rush hours.
In a statement, the LTFRB said it understands the arguments raised by the transport groups, especially that the concern is to increase earning of drivers and conductors.
The petition was filed by Pasang Masda, Alliance of Transport Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (ALTODAP), at Alliance of Concerned Transport Organization (ACTO) on Friday, Oct. 14.
In the petition, the groups are asking for P1 surge fee for every passenger for both traditional and modern jeepneys and P2 per passenger for passenger buses.
The LTFRB earlier approved a minimum fare of P12 for traditional jeepney and P14 for modern jeepneys. It also approved P13 minimum fare for ordinary passenger buses.
The surge fare would be reportedly charged between 5 a.m. to 8 a.m., or the morning rush hours, and 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. or the afternoon/evening rush hours.
In their petition, the transport groups said the surge fare will help cushion the impact of the rising price of diesel. On Tuesday, Oct. 18, oil companies implemented a P2.70 per liter increase in the price of diesel. This was the second week of big oil price hike implementation.
The LTFRB said that in studying the petition of the transport groups, it will take into consideration both the situation of those in the transport sector and the commuters--aside from the inflationary effect of any fare hike.
The increase in the inflationary effect, especially at this time when the price of almost all commodities have already gone up, was one of the main considerations in the approval of the fare hike by the LTFRB.
"While this (petition for surge fare) will have inflationary effect on the economy of the country, the LTFRB will set aside this to study the points raised by the transport groups in their petition," the LTFRB said.