REACTING to the planned P10 metro rail transit fare hike announced by Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) secretary Joseph Abaya, Bayan Muna party list representatives Neri Colmenares and Teddy Casiño today opposed the planned fare increase and insisted that there are other options to increase the MRT’s revenues without burdening commuters.
“It seems that the Aquino administration is really hell-bent on increasing the fares of the MRT and LRT, they have been proposing this added burden since 2010 and we will continue to oppose it.
“Mass transits are a public service and should be subsidized by the government. We in Bayan Muna will file a resolution to investigate this proposed hike and may even block the budget of the DOTC if this push through,” said Colmenares.
“Sec. Abaya’s justification for hiking MRT 3 fares defeats the purpose of constructing mass transit systems which is to provide the public with cheap transportation services,” he added.
Rep. Casiño meanwhile said that as an outgoing congressman he will again take to the streets to oppose the numerous fare and price hikes the government is passing on to the people.
He added that the administration should instead seriously consider other viable options to help subsidize the MRT mass transit system instead of resorting to fare hikes.” said the lawmaker
Some options for government to keep the MRT fares low:
1. Conduct a comprehensive review on the way system is run towards making it more efficient, removing unnecessary perks and bonuses to management, and correcting onerous loan and business arrangements entered into during the previous administration;
2. Add trains to increase passenger revenue and encourage more people to ride the train to work by, among other things, building bike parking facilities so that people can ride their bikes to and from the train terminals;
3. Ask malls and big business establishments along the train routes to contribute to a subsidy fund as part of their service to their buying public;
4. Ask local government units (LGUs) along the train route to contribute to the subsidy since they directly benefit from the MRT.
“The administration must note that the MRT also benefits the private companies and government agencies whose employees use it to get to their workplaces. It benefits the mall owners and vendors that have sprouted in its terminals. It benefits the motorists for reducing traffic volume on our highways. It benefits the power sector. It benefits the environment through lower carbon emissions. This is the holistic view that tells us that subsidizing the system is advantageous,” Casiño said.
Bayan Muna filed House Resolution 0172 in August 9, 2010 to investigate the proposed MRT-LRT fare hikes.
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