Passengers of Light Rail Transit Lines 1 and 2 should start allocating additional budget for their daily expenses as the line’s fare increase officially takes effect starting tomorrow, 2 August.
The Department of Transportation’s Rail Regulatory Unit approved the petitions seeking to increase the trains’ boarding fee by P2.29 — with an additional 21 centavos for every kilometer traveled.
The two line’s minimum boarding fees will now be P13.29 from P11, plus an additional P1.21 per km. traveled from P1 per km.
The adjustments were supposed to be implemented sooner but no less than President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. appealed to the DoTr to defer the fare adjustment until it fully reassessed its economic impact on the riding public.
Last month, the President approved the implementation of the delayed fare increase, citing the “improving” employment figures and easing headline inflation rates, which he said would allow passengers to cope with the fare increase.
According to Light Rail Manila Corp., which operates the LRT-1, the company will use the earnings from the fare adjustment to deliver efficient services.
“We are determined to give people back their time through efficient transport and put more value to every single peso that our passengers spend for every LRT-1 ride,” LRMC chief operating officer Rolando J. Paulino III said.
“Despite the absence of fare adjustments in previous years, we have established major improvements in the 38-year-old railway line with the increase in trains deployed to service more commuters; improved headway or waiting time; station rehabilitation and expansion; and the construction of LRT-1 Cavite Extension Project,” he added.
By Wednesday, LRT-1’s revised fare matrix will show a minimum fare of P14 and a maximum fare of P35 for Stored Value Cards or SVCs.
On the other hand, Single Journey Tickets or SJT will range from P15 to P35.
Meanwhile, in LRT-2, fares will now range from P14 to P33 for SVCs and P15 to P35 for SJTs.
The current minimum fare for SVC is P12 and a maximum of P30, while SJT is at P15 minimum fare and P30 maximum fare.