The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board clarified there would be no fare hike for all public utility jeepneys.
In a statement issued Tuesday evening, the LTFRB belied reports of a fare hike and said the memorandum circular 2019-061 it issued was to merely standardize fare rates computations for modern public utility vehicles such as e-jeepneys.
“The (MC) 2019-061 on Fare Rates for Modern PUJ Services and Electric PUJ Services aims to establish a nationwide fare guideline baseline for Modern PUJs and E-Jeepneys,” the statement read.
The LTFRB said the circular does not apply to regular PUJs. Under MC 2019-061, non-airconditioned electric and modern PUJs shall charge a fare rate 20 percent higher than regular PUJs for the first four kilometers with no rate difference in every succeeding kilometer.
For air-conditioned units, the fare rate is 20 percent higher than regular PUJ service for the first four kilometers and 20 percent higher for every succeeding kilometer.
The memorandum took effect on Wednesday (Dec. 4).
The new fare rates, according to the memorandum, are justified through the “unquantifiable” benefits of modern PUJs to the environment aside from the increased cost of maintenance of such units.
“The public has a value of knowing that by acting more environmentally correct, the more they contribute to future generation’s wellbeing,” the circular read.
On November 20, the Department of Transportation canceled the automatic phaseout of old jeepneys by June 30, 2020, and instead required a yearly roadworthiness test for such units, consolidation of operators into cooperatives or corporations, among other requirements.
The DOTr added that once sufficient modern PUVs ply the routes of traditional PUJs, the provisional authority of these non-modern PUJs would be canceled automatically.