A city councilor has proposed for an P11 minimum fare for passenger jeepneys, higher by a peso than what the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) recently approved.
Councilor Conrado Baluran, also the city council committee on communications and transportation chair, filed a resolution to request the LTFRB and other concerned agencies to accept his proposal.
Baluran, representative of the Third District in the city council, wanted that a new fare matrix be released to indicate the increase as passenger jeepney drivers and operators have been grappling with the impact of COVID-19 pandemic.
The imposition of the general community quarantine on May 16 led the LTFRB to issue a special permit to operate to some passenger jeepney units that are willing to service their routes.
Under the special permit, these public utility vehicles must adhere to health protocols like physical distancing and that this would result in the shrinking of allowable number of passengers to about 60% compared with the number before the onslaught of the virus.
