A COMMUTER group on Thursday rejected the government’s claim that low fares led to the deterioration of Metro Manila’s commuter train system.
The Riles Laan sa Sambayanan or Riles Network blamed the deterioration instead on the privatization of the Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit .
“The Aquino administration should stop [its] baseless [excuses] to justify the privatization and burdensome fare hike, said Sammy Malunes, Riles Network spokesman.
against the recent fare increases in the MRT and LRT trains at a press
conference in Quezon City on Thursday. Manny Palmero
Melquiades Robles, former Light Rail Transit Authority administrator, said the ridership of LRT 1 has dropped by 80,000 commuters per day because of the fare hike.
“There are fewer trains and a longer loop time now since they took over in 2010,” he told The Standard.
He attributed poor train service to mismanagement.
“A fare increase is not the response to improve the service,” he added.
Malunes said the fare hike would only benefit the train operators and the Pangilinan-Ayala consortium, and not the 600,000 riders since the proceeds from the increase will go to paying the P5 billion subsidy and to pay off the 15 percent return on investment guaranteed to the MRT Corp. from 2000 to 2025.
The LRT and MRT fares in the past years have been more than enough to maintain and sustain the train operation, he said.
He also criticized the Aquino administration for a recent spate of accidents on the MRT line, saying that the private maintenance service provider, APT Global, continues to earn profits while neglecting the safety and protection of commuters. – With Vito Barcelo and Macon R.Araneta
“The government’s PPP contract with the consortium is lopsided. The LRTA and MRT have defeated their mandate to provide safe, reliable and affordable mass transport service,” Malunes said.
One-sided provisions in the contract gave the concessionaire guaranteed profits despite the poor service.
The inclusion of the LRT1 operations and maintenance in the LRT 1 under the Public-Private Partnership program would give the winning bidder a tremendous advantage, he said.
“What is frightening is the power wielded by the winning bidder. The Ayala-Metro Pacific consortium would eventually control Line 1 operations, the automated fare collection system, and the construct ion of the Line 1 extension. Metro Pacific also controls part of the MRT 3. Moreover, the consortium also intends to bid on the privatization of the LRT2 system. This is a virtual monopoly in the train line, which will remove any possible checks and balances regarding its performance and give them tremendous control to dictate fares,” Riles said.
The Transportation Department on Thursday said the rehabilitation of 63 toilets in 13 MRT stations were underway.
“One of the basic necessities of an MRT-3 rider are functioning and decent comfort rooms. Alongside our improvement projects for train operations is this toilet rehabilitation project, which responds to the call of our commuters for better passenger comfort and convenience,” a department statement said.
This project began Feb. 26 and is scheduled for completion in September.
Opposition Senator Jospeh Victor Ejercito said the public transport system was in disarray, with long lines and breakdowns in the commuter train system, and delayed flights in the country’s airports, and a mismanagement of seaports.
The state of deterioration prompted him, as chairman of the Senate committee on economic affairs, to call a hearing on the transportation sector and the PPP program.
The Trade Union Congress of the Philippines (TUCP), meanwhile, demanded a P136 wage increase because of the erosion of workers’ buying power amid rising prices, including those for transportation, water and power.
“Our economy has been improving and continues to perform better than its peers in the region but the Filipino workers who largely contributed to that growth are falling through the cracks and being
left behind. Working people also deserved a share of the pie that only a few are privileged to have. Many minimum wage earners are falling by the day and they are being ignored by government,” TUCP spokesperson Alan Tanjusay said.
He said they are also going to file a wage increase petition of P136 on top of the current P466 minimum wage before the Regional Tripartite Wage And Productivity Board for Metro Manila. – With Vito Barcelo and Macon Ramos-Araneta
