JV Ejercito tells DOTr, LRTA: Consult commuters amid possible fare hikes for LRT-1, LRT-2
November 16, 2022
Senator Joseph Victor “JV” Ejercito on
Wednesday urged the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Light Rail
Transit Authority (LRTA) to consult commuters amid possible fare increases for
the LRT-1 and LRT-2.
Ejercito said commuter groups should be
adequately consulted, as the LRTA said its “conditional approval” of the fare
hike will still have to be referred to the Land Transportation Franchising and
Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
According to Ejercito, LRTA administrator
Atty. Hernando T. Cabrera said this is “in compliance with the consultation
process required by the LRTA Charter.”
“Once the LTFRB submits its comments, the LRTA
(through the Board) and the Department of Transportation (DOTr), being both
Grantors (for the concession agreement covering LRT 1), will then finally
approve the fare increase by submitting the same to the DOTr Rail Regulatory
Unit in compliance with the required regulatory process,” Cabrera explained.
From the recommendation of the LRTA Committee
on Fare Adjustment, the LRTA Board approved the fare increase for LRT 1 with a
Boarding Fare of P13.29 from the existing P11.00 plus the existing Distance
Fare of P1.00 to P1.21 per kilometer.
With the approval of the fare increase for LRT
1, the LRTA Board decided to impose the same fare hike for LRT 2, Cabrera
revealed.
He said the conditional approval of “the fare
hike for LRT 1 and LRT 2 was in response to the request for fare adjustment of
the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the private concessionaire that
operates the LRT 1.”
The LRMC had been the private concessionaire
of the operation, maintenance and rehabilitation of the existing LRT 1 in Metro
Manila and its extension in Cavite since October 2, 2014 when it signed the
Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Concession Agreement with the then Department
of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and the LRTA as Grantors.
Cabrera added that the LRTA management had
also requested the fare hike to ease government subsidy for LRT 2 and to have
ready funds for necessary rehabilitation, upgrading and extension projects.
The last fare adjustment for LRT 1 and LRT 2
happened on January 14, 2015. In that fare adjustment, both lines charged a
base fare of P11 plus P1.00 for every kilometer.
In 2016, 2018 and 2020, the LRMC filed its
petition for fare increase but the LRTA did not act on them. This year, the
LRMC petition for fare increase is still pending until finally affirmed by the
LTFRB and approved by the DOTr Rail Regulatory Unit.
The LRT 1 is an 18.7-km railway line from
Roosevelt, Balintawak, Monumento, 5th Avenue, R. Papa, J.A. Santos,
Blumentritt, Tayuman, Bambang, D. Jose, Carriedo, Central, United Nations, P.
Gil, Quirino, V. Cruz, Buendia, Libertad, Edsa and Baclaran. On a daily basis,
there are more than 270,000 passengers riding the LRT 1 at present.
The LRT 2 train runs on the 16.56-km railway
line from Recto, Legarda, Pureza, V. Mapa, J. Rizal, Gilmore, Betty Co, Cubao,
Anonas, Katipunan, Santolan, Marikina to Antipolo and vice versa, currently
serving some 125,000 passengers daily.
