Rail transit administrations mull lower fare increase

THE Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) on Friday said it may lower the planned fare hike at the country’s mass rail systems after various nongovernment and student organizations expressed opposition.

In a public consultation, Glicerio Sicat, DOTC undersecretary for rail and air, said the government would consider the public’s comments and suggestions before they will implement the fare hike at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3.

“We will have a board meeting maybe last week of February to discuss the comments of various group. We may reduce the boarding fee . . . We will also give 15-percent discount for students,” Sicat said.

The government will hold a second public consultation today (Saturday) with the labor group.

Sammy Malunes, spokesman of Riles Laan sa Sambayanan (Riles) Network said the government try to bribe the students with discounted fare rates and other schemes to lure the public into their anti-poor proposal.

“We oppose this. Providing discounts is just a weak sweetener to the bitter pill, which the people are being made of swallow. We do not agree that students discounts will address the concerns of the riding public which is composed of 50 percent workers, 10 percent unemployed and 30 percent students,” Malunes said.
Malunes added that there is no regulatory body that is authorized to regulate the rate of the LRT.

“The LRTA [Light Rail Transit Authority] can only propose, but not approve, new fares because these should be subjected to regulation,” he added.

Last month, the board of LRTA and Metro Rail Transit Authority approved a boarding fee of P11 for LRT 1 and 2 and MRT 3 plus additional P1 for every kilometer.

This means that the new fare for LRT 1 or Baclaran in Pasay to Roosevelt in Quezon City will be P30 for single journey ticket from the current fare of P20.

For Recto to Santolan, the new fare will be P25 for single journey ticket from the current fare of P15.

For MRT 3, new fare from Taft Avenue in Pasay to North Avenue in Quezon City for a single journey ticket is P30 from the current P15 a passenger.

Last year, the government’s subsidy amounted to P8.927 billion, while the agency’s revenue was only P3.089 billion.

The LRTA said the cost per passenger is P43.37, lower compared to the actual average fare of P14.07 a passenger. This means that the government subsidy is P29.30 a passenger.

LRTA expects to earn P4.65 billion from fare adjustment compared to the P3.43 billion without are adjustment.

While in MRT 3, the government subsidy amounted to P6.6 billion last year, while the revenue amounted to only P1.92 billion. –Darwin G. Amojelar, Manila Times

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