P30 taxi flag-down rate permanent

AFTER passenger jeepneys, it’s the turn of taxi cabs to cut their fare rates, starting on March 19.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Tuesday ordered a net reduction in cab fares as it made permanent the P30 flag-down rate and adjusted the distance and time for the succeeding rates.

In a consolidated order, the LTFRB lengthened the distance from 300 meters to 500 meters but shortened the waiting time (the amount of time a cab spends stuck in standstill traffic) from 120 seconds to 90 seconds. For both distance and waiting time, the succeeding rates were placed at P3.50.

“We reduced the taxi fare by lengthening the distance. The effect is a net reduction for commuters. We shortened the waiting time in due recognition of the appeal of taxi drivers to [take into consideration] traffic congestion,” LTFRB Chair Winston Ginez said on Tuesday.

The reduced flag-down rate of P30 will take effect nationwide on March 19 or 10 days after the scheduled publication of the order today, even without the calibration and resealing of the taxi meter, Ginez said.

The new succeeding rates shall be implemented only upon the calibration and resealing of the cab meter.

Airport taxi rate also cut

The LTFRB order will take effect nationwide except in the Cordillera Administrative Region, where the flag-down rate was reduced from P35 to P30 and the succeeding rates set at P2 for every 400 meters and P2 for every waiting time of 60 seconds.

The LTFRB also cut the flag-down rate for airport taxis from P70 to P60. The succeeding rate is at P4 for every 500 meters and P4 for every waiting time of 90 seconds.

The board also set a schedule for the resealing of taxi meters: Plate numbers ending in four, nine and two in April; five, seven and zero in May, and one, three, six and eight in June.

Taxi operators who fail to have their meters recalibrated will be fined P5,000. Those who charge beyond the approved rates will be slapped the same fine.

Ginez said the LTFRB arrived at the new rates “after carefully weighing and considering various socio-economic factors.”

“The board decided that the favorable effects of the steady and steep downtrend of crude prices which have a higher and direct impact [on] the transport sector…must also be passed on to the commuting public.”

The order, which resolved four petitions, was signed by Ginez, board members Ronaldo Corpus and Ariel Inton and attested to by acting executive director Robert Peig.

Earlier, Rep. Manuel Iway filed a petition for a fare reduction while the Philippine National Taxi Operators Association sought an increase.

A petition to cancel the P10 provisional rollback was submitted by Drivers Unite for Mass Progress and Equal Rights, while a separate petition filed by Angat Tsuper Samahan ng mga Tsuper at Operator ng Pilipinas Genuine Organization Transport Coalition called for a return to the P40 flag-down rate and a hike in the waiting time rate. –Erika Sauler