LRMC seeks P5 fare hike to back Cavite extension projec
This early, the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), operator of Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1, wants to increase fares by R5, pegging the average fare at R25, once it completes the railway’s extension to Sucat, Las Pinas and Bacoor by 2020.
The fare increase will give banks the confidence to lend LRMC funds for the Cavite Extension, knowing the company can recover its investment, LRMC President Juan Alfonso pointed out yesterday.
The fare hike will ensure that the company can finish the extension project which will benefit around 300,000 commuters in the area.
At R5 more, the average fare will be R25, or just about the same as a bus fare, and much lower than,` taxi and transport network company (TNC) fares, “without traffic”, according to the LRMC executive.
The R30-billion LRT1 Cavite Extension project will allow commuters to travel from Baclaran to Sucat in only 15 minutes, 20 minutes to Las Pinas and 30 minutes to Bacoor in Cavite.
“We can virtually guarantee these travel times because we are traffic free. And we are investing R5 for every R1 revenue to ensure that LRT-1 is efficient, trouble free and clean,” Alfonso pledged.
“Today, trains come every 3.5 minutes, down from 5 minutes when LRMC took over operations and maintenance in 2015.”
“LRT-1 is the solution to the traffic problem caused by the high population density and urbanization of Metro Manila,” he stressed, citing a JICA traffic study that estimated that traffic cost is R3.5 billion a day in Metro Manila.
“If we do nothing, it will become R5.4 billion a day in 2034, but by accelerating infrastructure projects, it can be reduced to R 3 billion a day. And with projects like the Cavite Extension, this can be further reduced to R2.4 billion a day.”
Once completed, the extension will stretch LRT1 over 33 kilometers, from Roosevelt in Quezon City to Niog, Bacoor.
Travel time from Bacoor to Central Station in Manila will be down to 45 minutes, and to Roosevelt Station in one hour and 10minutes, even during rush hours.