LTFRB orders 19 jeepney fare rollback
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Monday ordered a rollback of jeepney fare in Metro Manila and Central and Southern Luzon to 19 in the wake of the declining fuel prices in the world market for the past two months.
“The Board hereby resolved to order a provisional rollback of PUJ (public utility jeepney) minimum fare to nine pesos for the first four kilometers for Regions 3, 4, and NCR (National Capital Region),” the Board Resolution No. 091 reads.
The order on the 11-cut on minimum jeepney fares, penned by LTFRB Chairman Martin Delgra III and Board Member Engr. Ronaldo Corpus, will be effective mid-December or 15 days after publication.
Delgra had earlier said that the Board will come out with a resolution on PUJ fare rollback upon directive of Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade following series of hefty decline on pump prices for eight consecutive weeks.
Oil companies recently announced that more than 12 per liter will be slashed from the prices of
diesel and gasoline, while prices of kerosene and aviation fuel will be rolled back in the range of 11.50 to 11.70 this week.
“Because of the continuous rollback in the price of fuel, Secretary Tugade directed us to implement a motuproprio fare decrease. We will implement that, and no fee shall be charged for a new fare matrix,” Delgra added.
The LTFRB's announcement on a lower jeepney fare came a month after PUJ drivers and operators implemented 110 minimum fare hike last November 2 following the Board's approval of a petition for 12 fare increase in October.
The Board also granted a provisional fare hike of 11 to commuter buses in Metro Manila, and an additional 10.15 per kilometer charge for provincial buses.
Meanwhile, Delgra clarified that the hearing on the petition earlier filed by a commuters group for fare adjustment will still pushed through.
“It [fare rollback resolution] is without prejudice to the letter petition that was filed recently asking for a lower fare rate on PUJ. That is without prejudice. It means the hearing will still continue,” he explained in a mix of Filipino and English.
The United Filipinos Consumers and Commuters (UFCC) filed last November 12 a petition urging the Board to reopen discussions on public utility vehicle fare adjustments amid series of petroleum prices rollbacks.
The group also asked the LTFRB to bring back the minimum fares of jeepneys to 18, as well as the 110 and 112 minimum fares for ordinary and air-conditioned commuter buses.
The LTFRB is set to hear the petition today, December 4.