BAGUIO CITY – Jeepney operators and drivers in the Cordillera will start implementing the P0.50 fare increase starting Monday, February 24, 2020.
The Cordillera office of the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB-CAR) stated that only public utility jeepneys with updated free matrix will be allowed to implement the fare increase which is applicable to the prevailing minimum fare of P8.50 wherein starting Monday, the minimum fare for the first 4 kilometers will be fixed at P9.
Based on the resolution of the LTFRB that was promulgated last January 30, 2020, there will be no additional charges that will be imposed on the passengers for the additional kilometers that will be travelled as the approved fare increase will only be applicable to the prevailing minimum fare in the region.
Earlier, a number of jeepney associations in the region petitioned the LTFRB for a P1 fare increase in the region considering the prevailing high cost of oil prices and spare parts of motor vehicles aside from the peculiar terrain that compels the jeepneys to use bigger volume of fuel.
While most of the jeepney operators and drivers were disappointed over the approved fare increase, the P9 minimum fare rate will still be implemented for them to comply with the LTFRB decision but lawyers of the different associations are studying possible options of filing a motion for reconsideration to be able to get the nod of the regulatory agency on the additional P0.50 added increase on the minimum fare.
Previously, the LTFRB had been approving the petitions of jeepney associations in the region for a P1 increase in the minimum fare that will be implemented in the region because of the peculiar situation in all roads.
The LTFRB stipulated that the 20 percent discount given to students, senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PWDs) will still be applicable.
Jeepney operators and drivers had been eagerly awaiting the decision of the LTFRB on the proposed fare increase in the region that was filed a number of years ago but it took the regulatory body several years to decide on the matter which was not pursuant to the contents of the petition filed for the said purpose.
The LTFRB required the jeepney operators and drivers to post on their vehicles the approved fare matrics so that the public will be aware on the jeepneys that are allowed to charge the prescribed new minimum fare effective February 24, 2020.
The LTFRB decision allowed the prevailing minimum fare in the lowlands to be similar with the new minimum fare in the Cordillera which had been branded as unfair because maneuvering in the peculiar terrain in the region is more difficult than travelling in the flat terrain.
Regular commuters claimed that the approved new minimum fare in the region will be an added burden to the public which will have a serious negative impact on the finances of ordinary wage earners having to rely on their wages for their daily subsistence.
By HENT