The management of Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 said Monday said it will re-file its petition for a fare hike this week.
Department of Transportation assistant secretary and MRT-3 officer-in-charge Jorjette Aquino said MRT-3 has been operating at a loss, with the government subsidizing around P41 in fare of every passenger.
She said the last time MRT-3 adjusted its fares was in 2015.
“We believe that this fare adjustment is on the right side of the future of the rail system. The government should be sensitive to the welfare of the public in terms of long-term effectiveness and sustainability of our rail system. We want to make the MRT-3 system sustainable to build more and serve more,” Aquino said.
The MRT-3 management propose to increase its distance fare by 21 centavos per kilometer from P1 to P1.21 and its boarding fee by P2.29 from P11 to P13.29. If approved, the minimum fare will increase from P13 to P16, and the maximum fare (end-to-end) from P28 to P34.
“The comment of LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchise and Regulatory Board] is that the proposed adjustments are still lower than those of city buses, city bus aircons and MPUJs,” Aquino said.
“As per NEDA, the fare adjustment’s impact on inflation is minimal, while the additional revenue would ease the burden on the national government to increase the subsidies to MRT-3,” said Aquino.
Aquino said, however, the implementation of the proposed adjustment would not take effect immediately.
“Give or take, three months once it was refiled this week and approved by the Rail Regulatory Unit. Our expectation is that it would be implemented by late March or early April next year,” Aquino said.
The DOTr earlier approved a fare adjustment for LRT Line 1 and Line 2, which consists of an additional P2.29 boarding fare and P0.21 distance fare per kilometer, from the existing P11.00 boarding fare and P1.00 distance fare.