By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga
The United Negros Drivers and Operators Center (UNDOC) in Negros Occidental is still waiting for the new fare matrix from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) before implementing the P2 fare hike in public utility jeepneys (PUJs).
UNDOC secretary-general Diego Malacad said they are expecting the LTFRB to release the new matrix by Monday, July 4.
For now, Malacad said if passengers want to pay the new base fare of P12 they are welcome to do so, adding it would also offer relief to their drivers who have been badly hit by the incessant oil price hikes recently.
According to Malacad, of the new P2 hike in the minimum fare, an additional 0.50 centavos will be required for the succeeding kilometers, citing as example the regular fare for PUJs plying the Barangay Bata-Libertad route which is now at P14.50.
Meanwhile, although UNDOC seemed to approve of the new fare matrix, some drivers in Bacolod City are proposing for a P5 increase in the minimum fare, pointing out that the LTFRB’s fare matrix should be “pandemic-based.”
PUJs plying the city’s Handumanan-Libertad route, for example, have a minimum fare of P15, but after the pandemic began in 2020, their regular fare was increased to as much as P20.
Earlier on Wednesday, June 29, the LTFRB approved the P2 hike in PUJ fares nationwide following a consolidated petition from various drivers and operators groups.
Prior to fare increase, some PUJ drivers and operators in Bacolod City were forced to halt their trips as the price of fuel skyrocketed over the past few weeks with diesel priced above P90 in some gasoline stations in the city.
UNDOC and several driver and operator groups in Bacolod City and Negros Occidental have been asking the national government to suspend the value added tax and excise taxes on fuels in order to control the incessant oil price hikes./PN
