LRT-MRT fare hike suspended

MANILA, Philippines – The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) said yesterday the scheduled Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) fare increases would be put off indefinitely after steadfast opposition by various sectors during a two-day public consultation.

Dante Velasco, DOTC undersecretary for public information and management information systems, said LRT Authority (LRTA) administrator Rafael Rodriguez had raised the possibility of postponing the implementation of the fare hike plan as early as last Saturday, the end of the second day of public consultation.

“This is proof… that the government is listening,” Velasco told The STAR in a phone interview.

He said the LRTA and the DOTC noted the concerns raised by student and youth groups last Friday as well as labor and civil society groups Saturday, explaining their opposition to the LRT and MRT fare hikes.

“We are going back to the drawing board. We’ll review the numbers all over again,” Velasco said.

He admitted that the review would primarily zero in on a “downward adjustment” of the planned fare hike and student discounts.

He said they also considered the disadvantageous contracts signed by previous administrations that make up a lot of the huge operational costs of the three rail lines, especially for the EDSA-bound MRT.

“We’ll look into the build-lease-transfer contract for the MRT, with the review likely to be an exhaustive one,” Velasco said. –Rainier Allan Ronda (The Philippine Star)