Makati transport groups to offer P1 fare discounts Monday morning

Commuters in Makati City are in for a pleasant surprise Monday morning when Makati-based jeep and tricycle drivers offer a P1 fare discount to mark the birthday of Mayor Jejomar Erwin Binay Jr. The Makati City web portal said Saturday the city's jeepney and tricycle associations unanimously decided to offer discounted fares to city commuters from 8 a.m. to noon of Monday. “This is our simple way of showing Mayor Jun-jun Binay that he has our full support, as we have supported his father. Former Makati Mayor and now Vice President Jejomar Binay never failed to look after our welfare, constantly finding viable and permanent solutions to our sector’s woes," the coalition said in a manifesto. Signing the manifesto were the Unified Transport Federation of Makati, Inc. (UTFM) and Ang Bagong Makati Tricycle Federation (AB-MATRIFED). Mayor Binay turns 33 on Monday. But the one-time discount does not cover students, elderly and persons with disabilities because they already get a 20-percent discount as mandated by law. The transport groups said they believe the younger Binay will also do the same and will not neglect them. UTFM and AB-MATRIFED are alliances of local transport groups formed by jeepneys and tricycle drivers and operators from the first and second districts of Makati City. For his part, Mayor Binay expressed his gratitude to the UTFM and AB-MATRIFED for their support and for their unique present. “It is an honor for a chief executive to know that stakeholders in the public transport sector are also inspired to give back to their fellow constituents. In their own way, they are spreading the spirit of public service in Makati," Binay said. — LBG, GMANews.TV