By: Rey Panaligan
The Supreme Court (SC) was asked yesterday to act immediately on several petitions that challenged the legality of the fare increases implemented by the government last Jan. 4, 2015 on the three train lines of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Metro Rail Transit (MRT).
In a motion, Bayan Muna Party-List Rep. Carlos Zarate said that after nullifying the fare increases the SC should order the government to refund consumers of the unreasonable fare hike collected from them.
Sought to be nullified was Department of Transportation and Communications (DoTC) Order No. 2014-014 which provided the “distance-based fare scheme using the P11 base fare plus an additional P1 per kilometer thereafter in accordance with the board resolution of the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) with concurrence of the Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) and the recommendation of the MRT-3 Office.”
Citing examples of the increased rates, all the petitions in the SC stated that an MRT-3 trip from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Manila now costs P28 pesos from the original P15; an LRT-1 trip from Roosevelt Avenue in Quezon City to Baclaran in Parañaque City is now P30 from P20; and an LRT-2 trip from CM Recto in Manila to Santolan Road in Quezon City is now P25 from the original P15.
“Despite the much-questioned and much-protested fare hike, the MRT3 continues to give its passengers poor and unsatisfactory service,” the motion stated.
