Commuters will soon start paying higher fares to ride the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) in April, following the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) approval of the railway operator’s petition for a fare hike.

LRT-1 private operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) announced on Tuesday, Feb. 18, that the DOTr’s Rail Regulatory Unit has approved its new fare formula.

Starting April 2, the minimum fare for single journey tickets will jump from ₱15 to ₱20.

Passengers taking the end-to-end journey, from Fernando Poe Jr. station in Quezon City to Dr. Santos in Parañaque City, will now be paying ₱55 for a single journey ticket instead of ₱45.

Meanwhile, those using stored value cards will pay ₱52, up from the previous ₱43.

The current fare formula for LRT-1 of ₱13.29 boarding fee and a ₱1.21 increment per kilometer travel will likewise increase to ₱16.25 and ₱1.47, respectively.

The fare adjustment comes a month after the DOTr held a public hearing on LRMC’s petition for increase, which is part of the regulatory approval process.

During which, LRMC requested a higher fare scheme than what the government has now approved.

Initially, the LRT-1 private operator requested the single journey ticket to raise its minimum fare to ₱25.

Meanwhile, the end-to-end journey was sought to rise as high as ₱60.

In a statement, LRMC said the newly approved fair scheme is only equal to its initial petition in 2022, as provided for in the concession agreement.

This agreement stipulates that the operator is entitled to fare hikes of 10.25 percent every two years, which is aligned with an annual five percent rate adjustment that was initially due in 2016.

Apart from 2016, LRMC also filed petitions for fare adjustments in 2018, 2020, and 2022. However, all of them were deferred.

“In the past 10 years of operating and maintaining the 40-year-old railway line, this will only be the second time that LRMC has been allowed to implement fare adjustments for LRT-1,” said LRMC President and Chief Executive Officer Enrico Benipayo, referring to the DOTr’s 2025 approval.

Benipayo emphasized that public transportation is a service that requires continuous investment in maintenance, upgrades, and expansion.

“Countries with world-class transport systems such as Singapore and Japan adjust fares regularly to keep services efficient and safe,” he pointed out.

The LRMC President said his company has always achieved 100 percent of the monthly system reliability, system punctuality, and system availability performance indicators for LRT-1.

The cycle time, which measures the total time for a train to take a complete round trip, has significantly reduced since LRMC’s takeover: from 106 minutes in 2015 to 91 minutes last year.

“We remain committed to our mission of giving people back their time through efficient transport and putting more value to every single peso that our passengers spend for every LRT-1 ride,” added Benipayo.

He was earlier quoted as saying that the fare increase will help the national government avoid paying the additional fare deficit to instead use these funds for priority projects.

As of November 2024, the deferred fare hikes from LRMC resulted in a fare deficit of about P2.17 billion.

During the same period, LRMC completed phase one of the Cavite extension project, which added five new stations.

“Today, LRT-1 remains to be one of the fastest modes of transportation in Metro Manila and a sustainable way to commute with lower greenhouse gas emissions,” said Benipayo.