For Metro Rail Transit commuters, good news too.
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Saturday gave assurances it had no plan to increase fares at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) in the national capital in the calculable future.
In a statement released to media, Transport Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan said the agency was following instructions from Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade to mothball any discussion on a fare increase until commuters experienced improvements on the rail system.
The announcement followed the precipitous increase in jeepney and bus fares even in the absence of a fare matrix made amid rising prices of basic commodities.
Batan said Tugade had precise instructions that the government would not increase fares in the MRT while commuters were still beyond the improvements implemented in the system.
The MRT-3 last increased its fees in January 2015 to P11 as base fare plus an additional P1 per kilometer.
It has since been plagued by issues traced to poor maintenance, with coaches breaking down every once in a while.
A daily average of 350,000 commuters use the 16.9-kilometer rail line, which traverses the stretch of Edsa from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City.
On Thursday, the government, through the Department of Finance, and the Japanese government, through the Japan International Cooperation Agency, signed an P18-billion loan agreement for the MRT-3 Rehabilitation Project.
The project, which has a lifespan until 2022, will cover rehabilitation and maintenance of all sub-components of the train line, including its electro-mechanical systems, power supply, and rail tracks, among others, according to officials.
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