The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board will resolve next month pending fare hike petitions filed by jeepney operators as prices of petroleum products continue to soar.
Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (FEJODAP) national president Ricardo Rebaño, for his part, said they will file a petition for a P2 fare hike.
“Our drivers have to survive, too. They are just returning to the workforce,” Rebaño said.
LTFRB chairperson Cheloy Garafil said FEJODAP is welcome to make a petition, which will undergo evaluation.
“They can always file a supplemental petition in our office and we will hear and evaluate it accordingly,” Garafil said.
“As for the pending petitions, the National Economic and Development Authority has already submitted its position. We are waiting for their memorandum on September 3 and then we will act accordingly. So, we can expect the rate hike resolution at the earliest in the first week of September or at the latest, by the second week of September,” she added.
She said the increase in the fare for jeepneys was already “due.”
Oil firms yesterday announced that pump prices of diesel and kerosene will increase by P6.10 per liter while gasoline will go up by 1.40 per liter effective today.
In June, the LTFRB granted an increase in the minimum fare for traditional jeepneys to P11 across all regions.
Earlier this month, the LTFRB said it is keen on approving a petition to increase the fares for public utility buses.
Garafil noted the last bus fare increase was in 2018 when diesel was just at P44 per liter.
Bus groups earlier filed a P20 minimum fare increase petition for the first five kilometers in air-conditioned buses from P13 and a charge of P3.40 per kilometer beyond five kilometers. The first hearing for their petition was held last July 28.
Petitioning groups include the Southern Luzon Bus Operators Association, Nagkaisang Samahan ng Nangangasiwa ng Panlalawigang Bus sa Pilipinas, and Samahang Transport Operators ng Pilipinas Inc.
The petition also called for an increase in the minimum fare in the ordinary buses from P11 to P15 with a P2.70 charge per kilometer.
As far as provincial buses are concerned, the petitioners requested a P15 minimum fare for ordinary buses with a charge of P2 per kilometer.
For air-conditioned ones, their recommended charge is P2.50 per kilometer for regular air-conditioned buses, P2.60 per kilometer for deluxe buses, P2.70 per kilometer for super deluxe, and P3.60 per kilometer for luxury buses.
