by: Alexandria Dennise San Juan
The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) is proposing a new fare matrix that will provide taxi cabs the same rates enjoyed by transport network companies Uber and Grab.
Lawyer Aileen Lizada of LTFRB said the new matrix will give taxi cabs the “competitive edge.”
Under the proposed fare adjustment, the P40 flag-down rate will be retained, but the running fare for every 300 meters and waiting time for every two minutes will increase to P5.50 from P3.50.
The fare, Lizada added, will be per kilometer basis.
“So fare will be R40 plus the amount times kilometers plus the amount times number of minutes,” Lizada explained in a text message.
However, Lizada said that even if taxis will almost have the same rate as TNVS, there will be no price surging for taxi denomination.
“All taxi units, their meters must be calibrated and only after calibration shall the fare structure take effect,” she concluded.
LTFRB will release its official decision on the taxi fare adjustment by the end of the month.