January 10, 2025 | 12:00am
MANILA, Philippines — Commuters may start paying higher fares to ride the Light Rail Transit Line 1 by April if the government approves the LRT-1 operator’s petition for a rate hike.
April is the earliest month that the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) can raise LRT-1 fares, Transportation Assistant Secretary Jorjette Aquino told reporters.
Aquino said the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has 30 days beginning from the public hearing yesterday to decide on the petition.
If the fare increase is endorsed, LRMC has to inform commuters about it by running a notice in a newspaper of general circulation for three weeks.
The LRMC has to wait for 30 days for the public to learn about the fare adjustment before it can introduce a new matrix.
Aquino estimates that the process would take until April, saying it could be further prolonged if a motion for reconsideration is filed.
She said the DOTr may also reject the petition as the government would also take into consideration the impact of a fare hike on transport affordability.
At the public hearing yesterday, Kilusang Mayo Uno secretary general Jerome Adonis said increasing LRT-1 fares would “hurt the pockets of low-income workers.”
Under the LRMC proposal, commuters will pay an average increase of P6.02 for mid-distance travel, P8.65 for short distance and P12.5 for long distance.
Adonis said an increase of P10 per trip would be challenging for low-income workers to shoulder, as this would jack up their transport costs by P20 a day.
In a month, this could mean shelling out P520 more for a worker clocking in 26 days.
LRMC president and general manager Enrico Benipayo said the operator has to collect more from passengers to sustain the LRT-1.
Since taking over the LRT-1 in 2014, LRMC has been allowed to hike fares only once, even though the concession allows the operator to adjust fares once every two years.
As a result, LRMC has accumulated a fare deficit of P2.17 billion since filing for the first hike in 2016.
Former Bayan Muna representative Ferdinand Gaite slammed the proposed increase in LRT-1 fares, calling it “heartless and unconscionable” as self-rated poverty hit a 21-year high.
“The LRMC’s timing could not be more callous. They’re seeking fare hikes that could reach up to P12.50 per ride when 63 percent of Filipino families are struggling to make ends meet,” Gaite said. – Jose Rodel Clapano
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