Taxi fare cut underway

CEBU, Philippines - The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board is expected to reduce the taxi fare by P1 within the week.

Negros Oriental First District Representative Manuel Iway said his petition to reduce taxi fare was granted by the board. Iway said he was told that the LTFRB will reduce the fare from P3.50 to P2.50 for every 300 meters.

“Within the week, nag-expect ko nga mopagawas na ang LTFRB sa ilang desisyon,” said Iway, who is also a former board member of LTFRB.

Iway said that the flagdown calibration was also granted to reflect the current P30 rate. He explained that the actual meter calibration is still P40 but the taxi drivers were earlier ordered to deduct P10 from the flagdown rate.

“Pero daghan na man gud og lalis nahitabo ani between the passengers and drivers, so mas maayo nga i-calibrate na lang gyud ang flagdown rate to 30 pesos,” said Iway.

Iway, however, said that LTFRB opted to reduce the waiting time from three minutes to one minute due to traffic. Currently the waiting time rate is P3.50 for every three minutes.

 As soon as the new LTFRB decision is out, every three minutes of waiting time will already cost P10.50.

“This is a compromise decision,” said Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association Incorporated.

Yu said if this is the decision of the LTFRB the passengers would end up paying higher fare.

“Mao na ni ang panahon that government should think of a concrete solution to address the worsening traffic problem in Cebu, di kay magsigi lang og pagarpar,” said Yu, who is also the general manager and president of CITRASCO.

Yu said that previously it would only take 45 minutes from Cebu City to Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Lapu-Lapu City but now with the worsening traffic problem it would already take you up to two hours.

Yu explained that taxi drivers lost about one hour and 15 minutes of travel.

“Ini’g balik pa from the airport to Cebu City another two hours of travel unya og way pasahero ang taxi, alkansi na gyud ang mga drivers. So, kanang i- reduced ang waiting time, okey ra na kay mahug og compromise na,” Yu said.

Iway, however, said he will file a partial motion for reconsideration on the reduction of the waiting time.

“I will file an MR because not all places in the country naay traffic,” said Iway. —(FREEMAN)