Baguio cabbies want P15 hike

By Dexter A. See

BAGUIO CITY – Taxi operators and drivers in this mountain resort city urged the Department of Transportation and Communication and Land Transportation Franchising and regulatory Board to approve their request for a P15 hike in the current flag-down rate of P25.

The appeal was made by taxi operators and drivers following the series of oil price increases which has depleted their income.

At present, the flag-down rate for taxi units in Baguio is still P25 for the first 300 meters and P1.50 for every 200 meters which has been implemented since the middle of 2000 and was never increased despite the series of fuel price hikes over the past several years.

What complicated the situation for local taxi drivers was the conflicting petitions for fare increases submitted by their organization and some individual taxi operators.

Earlier, the Samahan ng mga Taxi sa Cordillera filed a petition for a P40 flag down rate; P2 charge for the succeeding 150 meters; and P2 for every 1 minute and 30 seconds waiting time rate.

However, another petition was submitted by a different group sought a P40 flag down rate for the first 500 meters and P1.50 for the succeeding 150 meters.

The conflicting petitions prompted the DOTC-Cordillera to defer the supposed granting of provisionary taxi fare hike after the agency received a separate petition strongly opposing the P40 flag down rate.

Taxi operators and drivers in the city argued it is unfair for the LTFRB to exclude Baguio for its decision to grant the P40 flag down rate in Metro Manila and other parts of the country when prices of fuel and spare parts in the city were much higher as compared to prices in nearby urban areas in the lowlands and the National Capital Region.

Based on a comparative analysis on the pump prices of fuel products, three major fuel refilling stations in the city charge unleaded gasoline at P61 per liter and diesel at P47 per liter when the prices in Manila are P54 and 40, respectively.

Due to the huge disparity in the prices of oil in the city and Metro Manila, the city government demanded the conduct of an investigation on the reasons behind the big difference in the prices of fuel but their efforts seem to be in vain as the Department of Energy (DoE) seems to be mum on the matter.

From the usual P300 to P500 take home pay after a 16- or 24-hour duty, taxi drivers complained that due to the skyrocketing prices of fuel, they are now bringing home more or less P150 per shift which is not enough to sustain the living condition of their families in the highly urbanized city.