By Nikolai Ordoña

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has recommended fare discounts for passengers of Public Utility Vehicles nationwide, replacing the Libreng Sakay in the EDSA Bus Carousel. 

According to the GMA News report last Tuesday, the proposal was submitted by DOTr Sec. Jaime Bautista to the Land Transportation, Franchising, and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairman Teofilo Guadiz III.

“Pre-pandemic fare matrix will be applied and the provisional fare increases implemented will be covered accordingly by the government,” as said in the memorandum

For traditional jeepneys, the minimum fare will be lowered from PHP 12 to PHP 9. 

Meanwhile, for modern jeepneys, it will be lowered from PHP 14 to PHP 11. 

There will also be up to a PHP 4 fare discount for buses while the fare for UV Express is yet to be announced.

However, the lower rates will be temporary due to budget constraints that will end when the PHP 2-billion fund of the LTFRB’s Service Contracting Program has been consumed.

According to Chairman Guadiz, the current resources could only last for about six months, so he has requested additional funding from the DOTr to extend the allocation until the end of the year.

“I think what they [will] do is to provide a discount to the people so that the PHP 1.2-billion budget could be stretched to many transport services on a nationwide scale,” Guadiz said in a statement on Wednesday.

The specific date of its implementation is yet to be announced. Nevertheless, Guadiz assured that the budget is now ready and the LTFRB is just waiting for the DOTr to “download the money” to them. 

Thumbnail from Walter Bollozos