Transport group bucks fare rollback

MANILA, Philippines - A transport sector party-list group opposed yesterday the proposed jeepney fare rollback, saying that students who comprise the bulk of commuters are on vacation, resulting in reduced daily income of drivers in Metro Manila.

Vigor Mendoza, chairman of the 1-Utak party-list group, said that despite the recent oil price cuts during vacation time, jeepney drivers have to look for other alternative sources of income because of the scarcity of passengers.

“Even if the price of fuel dropped, reducing fares may not be timely as passenger load dropped by as much as 20 percent brought about by the summer vacation of students. In fact, some jeepney drivers in the university belt area have resorted to driving tricycles instead,” he said.

He, however, said that they will continue to monitor the situation and take the appropriate steps to offer some relief to commuters should the price of fuel drop further.

Mendoza appealed to the government to initiate programs that will further bring down the cost of fuel and other operating expenses on a more permanent basis.

He said the government should refrain from using stopgap measures and instead initiate long-term solutions to address inefficiencies in the transport system.

For instance, a shift to electric powered vehicles would reduce fuel cost from P1,000 per day to just P300 per day. Out of line or colorum vehicles should be continually weeded out to level the playing field for legitimate operators and drivers.

“When the price of fuel is down, government should work double time in instituting key reforms because, as we have seen in the past, the faster the price of oil drops, the faster it rises later on. If these reforms are not in place by then, the pressure to increase fares would be greater,” Mendoza said.

He said the transport group would also ask the Department of Energy to act on the recommendations of the Independent Oil Price Review Committee, specifically the need to investigate further the findings of the committee that oil companies do not roll back prices of fuel as much as the drop in world oil prices.

Mendoza said there has to be transparency in pricing, otherwise the public would always be suspicious that oil companies are overpricing their products.