LRTA, DOTr urged: Withdraw fare hike petitions

Activist group Bagong Alyansang Makabayan has called on the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and Department of Transportation (DOTr) to withdraw their petitions for fare increases in the LRT Line 2 and Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), respectively.

In a statement yesterday, Bayan secretary general Renato Reyes said both the LRTA and DOTr are government agencies whose mandate should be “helping commuters, not imposing an added burden on them.”

“The justification for the fare hike, that government subsidies for train lines have become too big, implies that these subsidies are wasted on commuters. When asked if there was an order from Congress or the Executive to reduce subsidies for train lines, the representatives of the LRTA and MRT-3 could not present any,” Reyes said, referring to what happened during the public hearing on the fare hike petitions on Friday.

Under the proposed fare hikes, a minimum single journey ticket in the MRT-3 will be increased by P4 or from P13 to P17. The endto-end fare from North Avenue to Taft Avenue will go up by P6 or from P28 to P34.

The LRT-2 from Antipolo to Recto will have a minimum fare of P13 from the current P11. The end-to-end fare will be increased from P28 to P33.

Meanwhile, private company Light Rail Manila Corp., which operates the LRT-1, proposed an average increase of P9 in its fare rate. Based on its petition, the current minimum fare of P15 will be increased to P17 while the end-to-end fare from Roosevelt to Baclaran will go up from P30 to P44.

Bayan urged the DOTr to defer any action on the LRT-1 fare hike petition for “lack of jurisdiction over the matter.” –