ABOUT 10,000 operators of UV Express vehicles belonging to the group Code X are asking the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to grant them a P2 per kilometer fare increase, citing the passage of the Tax Reform for Acceleration and Inclusion law.
Lino Marable, Code X president, said the public utility vehicle operators have to bear the brunt of the TRAIN law, which imposes higher excise taxes on fuel products, leading to higher pump prices.
“The time has come that we could no longer shoulder the high prices of gasoline, new PUV units and spare parts, and even the traffic. These four factors have been the reasons why we have filed a fare increase petition,” Marable said.
The costs of new vehicles, fuel and spare parts have doubled since the last fare hike was approved in 2005.
The TRAIN law that took effect on Jan. 1 has adversely impacted the transport sector, Code X said.
But Aileen Lizada, LTFRB board member-spokesperson, warned public utility drivers and operators against any fare increase on their own.
A hearing on the petition is set on March 6.
Last year, PUV drivers and operators filed a petition to increase the base fare from P8 to P10.
Efren de Luna of the Alliance of Concerned Transport Operators said then they had “valid grounds” to seek an increase.
Taxi operators also urged the LTFRB to grant them a flag-down fare increase from P40 to P60 also due to TRAIN.
Airport taxi operators also appealed to increase their P70 base fare to P100 and their per-350 meter rate from P4 to P7, while ride-sharing operator Grab Philippines wanted to increase its rates from P10 to P14 per kilometer to P11 to P15 per kilometer.
In 2014, Code X also lobbied the LTFRB to defer higher fines and penalties for operators of public utility vehicles, saying more information was needed from a study by the Japan International Cooperation Agency and that the imposition of the penalties was “premature and untimely.”
“Unfortunately, the Jica study is yet to be completed resulting in a vacuum that colorum operators are trying to fill up,” Code-X said.
“There are not enough new franchises to eradicate colorum operators,” the group added. “Yet there is high demand for vehicles to ferry the passengers to and from [their] place of work.”