EDITORIAL - LTFRB reaps whirlwind from foot-dragging

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is now reaping the whirlwind of its long-delayed order reducing the flagdown rate for taxis nationwide by 10 pesos. The delayed order, made worse by its decision not to recalibrate taximeters but leaving the matter of paying or collecting the new rates to the drivers or passengers, has resulted in a lot of confrontations between the two parties, including one in which a knife-wielding driver threatened to harm his passengers.

First things first. The LTFRB should warn the operator of this particular taxi about the methods it is using in hiring drivers. Then it should pass on the matter to the LTO and the police so that the knife-wielding driver not only gets his license confiscated but is banned from driving a public utility vehicle for life and gets to face the appropriate charges. This driver is a threat to the riding public and must never be made to drive a PUV ever again. A fine is simply not enough.

Now back to the delayed decision of the LTFRB to reduce taxi fares. It is very clear that the messy situation we are experiencing is the direct result of the kind of red tape that reduces government to ineffectiveness. It is not clear why the LTFRB took its own sweet time to slash fares when fuel prices have been plummeting for many months.

The LTFRB dragged its feet for too long that when it eventually decided to slash fares, it was only a matter of time before fuel prices started rising again. It is easy to understand the consternation of drivers regarding the result of this wishy-washy kind of governance. The timing of the fare reduction could not have come at a worse time. When fuel prices were going down for months, the LTFRB refused to act. When fuel prices started going up, it was when LTFRB ordered the fare cuts.

It is actually very easy for the LTFRB to act with efficiency, that is if it is only willing to do so. Everybody knows that fluctuations in fuel prices dictate the rates of fares and of almost everything else. It is also no secret that such fluctuations, dependent as they are on movements in the free market, will always be there and that there is no escape from their effects.

So, what is it that the LTFRB should do under such very clear and predictable circumstances? Why, if the LTFRB truly wants to be efficient, it can always produce a matrix of fare rates that matches the up and down movement of fuel prices. Such a matrix should reflect the different levels at which fare rates can either go up or down depending on the corresponding levels by which fuel prices also go up or down.

Once the LTFRB develops such a system, there should be no more need to call for public hearings. Public hearings should only be called once, before the adoption of the system, in order for all parties to agree on the fuel price to fare rate adjustments. Once an agreement is reached, the adjustments can be automatic. All that the LTFRB needs to do is make the public announcement as to which particular adjustment level is applied.