The operators of three mass rail systems in Metro Manila on Friday said a fare hike of at least two pesos per boarding is crucial to support their operations and to reduce the subsidy being provided by the national government.
In a public hearing, the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC), the operator of LRT Line 1, the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) operating LRT Line 2 and the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT3) management asked the Rail Regulatory Unit of the Department of Transportation to approve their respective petitions for fare adjustments.
Based on their petitions, the three rail operators have proposed a boarding fare of P13.29 and distance fare of P1.21 per km.
At present, LRT Line 1, MRT3, and LRT Line 2 have maintained a boarding fare of P11 and distance fare of P1 per km since 2015.
“Were asking the unit [RRU] to approve our fare hike petition because of higher inflation and power rates,” Jhimmy Santiago, LRMC general counsel said during the hearing.
He said that the actual fare deficit for LRMC stood at P1.46 billion for failure of the government to approve its fare hike request since eight years ago.
Assuming there is no fare increase until 2025, the LRMC’s fare deficit will balloon to P5.7 billion, Santiago added.
Under its contract with the government, the initial boarding fare was supposedly pegged at P12.13, and the initial distance fare should be at P1.10 per km.
This developed as an the general manager of the Philippine NationalRailways (PNR) said it is coordinating with other agencies and local government units to provide alternative modes of transportation for riders during the proposed five-year paused operations of the train system.
“The LTFRB [Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board] can open new special bus lanes and jeepney route,” PNR GM Jeremy Regino told Dobol B TV. “We are also consulting with the LGUs for the smooth implementation of alternative transportation.”
The land-based railway train system serves 30,000 passengers dailyfrom Governor Pascual Station in Malabon to Calamba Station in Laguna,while 2,000 from Alabang Station in Muntinlupa to Calamba, according to Regino.
According to Regino, the PNR’s stoppage will be done in segments. The government will save around P15 billion if the PNR operations are halted during the construction of the North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR), he added.
The PNR will announce this to the public two months before the start of the temporary closure, Regino said.
LRTA, on the other hand, said the approval of the fare adjustment is “crucial” considering that the financial condition of the LRT-2 line.
“LRTA’s internally generated funds are not sufficient to sustain its total operating expenses requirements. For this reason, the authority has an operational subsidy from the national government for the year 2023 in the total amount of P1.053 million,” it said.
It said the proposed fare increase would reduce subsidy from thegovernment and provide better and improved services. such that LRTA can invest on rehabilitation and improvement of the system and its facilities.
Meanwhile, MRT3 said it has been struggling with finances due tohigher operating expenses.
“Fare revenues have never been enough to compensate what is owed to Metro Rail Transit Corp. to cover the initial investment in building the railway facility and to properly maintain and operate the line,” MRT3 officials said.
“However, because it is an essential service, it is continuouslymaintained and subsidized, costing continuous deficits on the part of the government,” it added.
As of November 2022, the MRT3 system’s total expenses amounted to P8.96 billion, while the total revenue amounted only to P1.1 billion—a deficit of P7.8 billion or P88.34 in government subsidy for every passenger.
Renato Reyes Jr., secretary general of Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, andother stakeholders opposed the proposed fare hike for the three mass rail systems.
“Congress, DOF (Department of Finance), DBM (Departments of Budget and Management) and Malacanang have not said anything about reducinggovernment subsidy, so why should LRTA and MRT3 dictate this and pass on their costs to commuters? This is unacceptable,” Reyes said.
This is also in the wake of reports that several LRT-1 coaches wereleft unused due to water leaks, which “show how exasperating the situation can get,” Senator Grace Poe said in a statement.
“Our transportation woes just won’t end. We must exact transparency and accountability from those involved in allowing the delivery of the train cars without thorough inspection,” she added.
Poe said the people will hold the Department of Transportation to itscommitment to make the supplier remedy the problem to make the coaches usable.
“The money of the people is involved here. We cannot just let thetrain cars gather water and rot while millions of commuters go through the daily travails of commuting,” she said. With Macon Ramos-Araneta