Taxi fare hikes over receipts unlikely - LTFRB

MANILA, Philippines - The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) does not see any fare hike for taxis starting this year, when cab drivers start issuing receipts to passengers. LTFRB chairman Thompson Lantion said fares may even go down if prices of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which a growing number of taxi operators now use, goes down. "Wala naman po. Ang umiiral na flagdown yan pa rin po (I don't think so. I think the flagdown rate of P30 will still stand)," Lantion said in an interview on dzXL radio. He also said the LTFRB will ensure a "gradual" implementation of the new policy so taxi operators will not suffer financially from having to buy receipt-issuing equipment. Lantion said earlier that the LTFRB will have taxi operators issue receipts for passengers who request them, starting Jan. 1 next year. "Minungkahi may option, manual o nakakabit sa metro (There will be two options, the receipts can be issued manually or be connected to the taximeter)," he said. He said the receipts should include information such as the name of the taxi, the fare, the date, contact number of the taxi, and tax identification number (TIN). Lantion also said that in the gradual implementation of the new scheme, taxi operators will be allowed to "defer" issuing receipts until the earliest technical inspection for the year. "Usapan doon pag sila magpapa-confirm o pa-inspection ng taxi sa technical evaluation kasama na yan (The agreement is that the taxis should be able to issue receipts once we conduct a technical evaluation)," he said. - GMANews.TV