LTFRB: No automatic increase despite fare hike petition

There will be no automatic jeep fare hike, at least until next week, even if transport groups file a petition to restore a 50-centavo provisional fare hike. The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) gave this assurance to commuters Wednesday, saying that any petition for fare adjustment will be studied thoroughly. “Bago magtaas ang pasahe, kailangan dinggin yan. Di automatic [na] pag hiningi nila aaprubahin natin (Before any fare hike can be effected, we will have to conduct hearings. A fare hike is not automatic)," LTFRB chairman Alberto Suansing said in an interview on dzXL radio. The Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap) was to formally ask the LTFRB Wednesday to restore the 50-centavo provisional fare hike. Fejodap president Zenaida Maranan said they can no longer cope with the continued high prices of fuel. “We are not asking for a fare hike; we are merely asking to get back the 50 centavos we had voluntarily given up," Maranan said in a separate interview on dzXL. On the other hand, Suansing said that if Fejodap were to submit its petition this week, the LTFRB will take at least one week to study it before scheduling hearings. Thus, he said the hearings will take place next week at the earliest. In the meantime, Suansing advised commuters with complaints against “overcharging" jeep drivers to send their complaints to him via text message. He said they can send the text messages to his phone at 0918-9447951. “I-text ang plate number, petsa, at area (Include the plate number of the jeep, and the date and place where the overcharging occurred)," he said. - LBG/RSJ, GMANews.TV