COMMUTERS will be paying more for their train rides starting tomorrow, Wednesday, as the operators of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 implement the approved fare adjustments for their rail systems.
Beginning Wednesday, riders of the LRT Line 1 will pay a boarding fare of P13.29 and a distance fare of P1.21 per kilometer, an increase from the P11 boarding rate and P1 per kilometer rate.
This means that a minimum fare of P14 and a maximum fare of P35 for stored value cards (SVCs) will be collected by LRT 1 operator Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC). Single journey tickets (SJTs), on the other hand, will range from P15 to P35 from between P12 and P30.
“Through the years, LRMC has remained committed to its mission of providing a safe, reliable, efficient, and comfortable journey for LRT 1 commuters. 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. 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 COO Rolando J. Paulino III said.
Meanwhile, Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), which operates LRT 2, will start charging a minimum fare of P13 and a maximum of P33 for SVCs, while fares for SJT shall range from P15 to P35.
The Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) Rail Regulatory Unit earlier approved the upward adjustment for fares for both train lines, employing an “inflation rebasing formula” based on the 2018 rates.
The unit has said the approval for LRT 2 was based on the LRTA’s deficit for 2023, projected to be less than P8.5 billion. The government-owned corporation is operating at a loss and is relying on government subsidies for its operations and maintenance, as reflected in its financial performance in 2022 when it incurred a deficit of about P7 billion.
“The additional fare will be used to fix and improve the facilities and services of the LRT 2. The last fare adjustment for the line was implemented in 2015,” the DOTr said in a news statement released on Monday.
On the part of LRMC, its fare deficit vis-à-vis the notional fare prescribed in its concession agreement with the government is P1.46 billion. As of January 2023, LRMC’s actual fare is 50 percent behind the notional fares, a gap that “will exponentially increase.”
LRT 1 last implemented a fare increase in 2015. Since 2016, LRMC has filed four petitions for a rate increase. But these were all deferred.
For the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3, Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said the petition for fare increase is still with the Office of the Secretary.
Historically, once approved, a fare hike will be implemented within “three months.”
“We will await the referral of the Office of the Secretary to my office, the rail regulatory unit,” he said.
The petition calls for “almost the same” increase in fares for the two overhead lines.
Chavez explained that the increase would help cushion the equity rental payments that the government shells out to lease the MRT 3 from MRT Holdings Inc.
The government pays between P600 million and P900 million per month—depending on the inflation—to MRT Holdings to rent the facility under the build-lease-transfer (BLT) agreement that it signed with the company in the 90s.
The concession agreement for the BLT agreement will lapse in 2025.
Much like LRT 1, the government aims to privatize the other two lines by auctioning off their operations and maintenance (O&M) contracts as a “bundle.”
This exercise is expected to be started next year, Chavez said.
Image credits: LRTA Facebook page