Increase in fares of MRT inevitable, says Aquino

MANILA, Philippines – President Aquino yesterday admitted an “inevitable” increase in fares of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT), citing the inability of the government to sustain the subsidy due to the high cost of its operations.

Mr. Aquino said he is awaiting studies on the proposals on the equitable fare that would be acceptable to the riding public while allowing a lower government subsidy on the train operations.

Mr. Aquino noted proposals to make the MRT fares equal with those of passenger buses while offering an easier and faster travel to commuters.

“I’m still waiting for the recommendations,” he said.

Mr. Aquino explained the government subsidy on the MRT operations would be reduced with the increase in fare rates.

“The subsidy for the (MRT operations) is too high). We don’t have (the funds) to fill it,” he said.

MRT general manager Reynaldo Berroya said he was considering increasing the P15 maximum MRT fare to P25.

Berroya said the increase would give the government an additional income of P1 billion a year.

Transport authorities said the hike was necessary to allow the MRT to recover losses. The mass transit railway line that runs along EDSA earns only an estimated P1.8 billion a year.

Transportation Undersecretary Thompson Lantion said the current fares of the MRT at P15 are being subsidized by the government.

The government subsidizes fares at an average rate of P45 per passenger, according to Lantion. This means the regular fare, if government subsidy is removed, would increase to P60, he said.

Transportation Secretary Jose de Jesus said the government spends more than P5 billion a year for MRT operations and maintenance.

“It’s not recovering the cost of operations. I think it has to go up. I don’t know by how much,” he said.

De Jesus added the Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines 1 and 2 are also expected to increase fares.

He said there had been studies to increase the fare at the LRT and MRT to reduce the heavy government subsidy on their operations.

On the other hand, lawmakers led by Sen. Pia Cayetano appealed to the government to find other ways to keep the mass rail transit system affordable to the public.

“The government’s losses in terms of subsidy to the LRT and MRT must always be weighed against the many benefits brought about by less pollution and less traffic in the metropolis, as well as the convenience and economic benefits it brings to ordinary workers who would rather be in a moving train than to be struck in traffic or be late for work,” she said.

Cayetano said blaming the previous administration for bailing out the debts of the MRT and LRT is useless.

“It is now the Aquino government’s challenge to find ways to keep modes of mass transportation affordable to the commuters and to cushion the impact of any fare hike, if this option has become inevitable,” she said.

Cayetano called on the Department of Transportation and Communications to refrain from imposing any unilateral and unjustified increase in LRT and MRT fares without public consultation.

She added other government agencies, including the Department of Health, Department of Environment and Natural Resources and the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA), should also be consulted on proposals for the fare increase.

Quezon Rep. Danilo Suarez, for his part, said the President should think twice before deciding to scrap the subsidy altogether.

He said the reason why the government continues to subsidize the MRT and LRT operations is to make sure the fares remain affordable to the public while at the same time sparing them the hassles of being trapped in traffic jams on their way to work.

“Does he (Mr. Aquino) want to be popular or to be right? Or to be popular and right?” Suarez said.

“We have this principle of equality between a rich person and a poor person in transport, that is found in mass transit. Both can reach their destinations at the same time,” he said.

Suarez said it is the government’s responsibility to make lives easier for ordinary Filipinos, many of whom are using the mass rail transit system.

Because of the MRT, Suarez pointed out that at least 9,000 buses were pulled out of EDSA reducing pollution, traffic as well as accidents.

With the drastic increase in MRT fares, commuters would have no other alternative but to ride buses.

“Do we want all those buses to be back? Do we want more pollution? More traffic? More accidents? And millions of late workers who lack sleep?” he said.

The next best thing, Suarez said, is for the government to privatize the MRT, which has an average of 500,000 riders daily while the LRT lines 1 and 2 have a combined average ridership about 400,000 a day.

Militant groups led by the Kilusang Mayo Uno (KMU) said any increase in the fares of the mass rail transit system would have a great impact on the riding public.

KMU secretary-general Elmer Labog said the increase would run counter to the pro-poor program of Mr. Aquino.

Labog proposed to the government to buy back the mass rail transport system.

The National Council for Commuters Protection (NCPP) also aired their appeal to the President to reconsider proposals to increase fare rates of the MRT and LRT.

In his first State of the Nation Address (SONA), Mr. Aquino blamed the previous administration for trying to “buy the people’s love” by forcing the MRT to keep its rates low.

In effect, Mr. Aquino said, the guarantee given to the MRT operator that he would still be able to recoup his investment was not fulfilled.

“Because of this, Land Bank of the Philippines and the Development Bank of the Philippines were ordered to purchase the MRT. The money of the people was used in exchange for an operation that was losing money,” the President said.–-Aurea Calica (The Philippine Star) with Rainier Allan Ronda, Christina Mendez, Paolo Romero and Perseus Echeminada