By Chloe Mari A. Hufana, Reporter
MINIMUM jeepney fares could more than double to P30 due to the high costs of imported units under the government’s modernization plan, according to a retired University of the Philippines – Los Baños professor.
Teodoro C. Mendoza, who wrote a paper on the modernization plan in 2021, said his estimate has taken inflation into account.
In 2021, he estimated fares to start at P24 if new jeepneys had a low daily passenger ridership of 200 people and if the modern jeepney price is P1 million.
But considering inflation, expensive fuel and more expensive units, the minimum fare should now be P30, he told BusinessWorld in a Facebook Messenger chat on Tuesday.
He added that workers, majority of whom ride jeepneys, might seek higher wages.
“Many of us are poor,” he said. “There are only about 2 million families and individuals who own private cars. For the remaining 20 million families or roughly 100 million of us, the jeepney is the main transport mode, especially in rural areas.”
Mr. Mendoza said traditional jeepneys could get refurbished in the short term to prevent fares from rising too much.
“In the medium to long term, we should manufacture jeepneys locally,” he said. “So, instead of being negative, jeepney modernization will be positive for the economy.”
He backed the local production of modern jeepneys led by pioneer manufacturers Francisco Motors Corp. and Sarao Motors, Inc.
Meanwhile, the Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Operator Nationwide (PISTON), one of the biggest transport groups in the country, picketed before the Supreme Court to press it to stop the modernization plan.
The tribunal has yet to rule on a lawsuit that the group filed in April.
Labor leader Jose Sonny G. Matula said increasing the minimum jeepney fare would hurt Filipino workers.
“It could have a significant impact on Filipino workers who rely on jeepneys as their primary mode of transportation,” he told BusinessWorld in a Viber message, noting that P30 is more than double the P13 minimum fare now.
“For many workers, particularly those earning minimum wage or lower, the increase would represent a substantial portion of their daily income,” he added.
Mr. Matula said workers might get further mired in debt and poverty, forcing them to cut back on other basic expenses such as food, healthcare and education.
“Higher transportation costs might push some workers to seek alternative, less reliable or even unsafe modes of transportation in the long run,” he added.
Using a bicycle could be an alternative, but Mr. Matula said it could lead to absenteeism or tardiness at work, which would affect the productivity of workers and businesses.
“The fare increase could also exacerbate existing inequalities, as those in lower-income brackets would be disproportionately affected, widening the gap between different socioeconomic groups,” he added.
The Philippine Senate in a resolution this month urged President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr. to suspend the modernization program, saying it had been rushed. The President rejected the proposal, saying it had been postponed seven times already.
Some grassroots groups have said the government’s anti-poor and profit-oriented program would affect at least 118,000 families and 685 jeepney routes in Metro Manila alone.
The modernization started in 2017 under ex-President Rodrigo R. Duterte, aiming to replace traditional smoke-belching jeepneys with units that have at least a Euro 4-compliant engine to cut pollution.
The deadline for jeepneys to consolidate into cooperatives lapsed on Dec. 31, 2023, but public utility vehicles were allowed to keep operating until Jan. 31, 2024. The President later extended the deadline to April 30.
The program seeks to establish a state-of-the-art public transport system that induces operators to renew their fleets using higher-capacity vehicles that are also more efficient. It also lays the groundwork for the electrification of the public transport fleet toward full decarbonization.
