Commuters are shaking their heads at the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) fare hike which took effect Wednesday morning, disheartened that yet another essential expense has increased.
RH 15 Jecelle Ricafort interviewed a handful of commuters at a station along LRT-1, and they all agreed the price hike would chip away at their earnings, which have not gone up despite the rising prices of basic commodities such as rice and eggs. They saw this especially impacting breadwinners supporting families.
“Wala nang mangyayari sa’tin. Lubog na Pilipinas. Kawawa ang mga tao, lalo na ‘yung pamilyado,” a respondent told Ricafort.
(We’re going nowhere. The Philippines has sunk. The people are badly off, especially those with families.)
“‘Yung budget namin medyo maliit lang, sa sahod din namin hindi ganoon kalaki. Bale, malaking epekto ‘to dahil malaking gastos sa panahon ngayon,” said a woman.
(Our budget is rather small, our wages aren’t that big either. This has a huge effect because it’s a big expense these days.)
LRT commuters have no choice but to take the trains in order to avoid traffic on their way to work. In light of the increased fare, they have called on management to improve services, including reducing long queues.
The minimum LRT-1 fare has gone up by ₱5, from ₱15 to ₱20, while the maximum single journey fare ticket has shot up by ₱10, now costing ₱55 from ₱45 previously.
For stored value or “Beep” cards, the minimum fare is now ₱16 from ₱15, and the maximum ₱52 from only ₱43.
According to the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the hike is pushed to help sustain the expansion of LRT-1 service up to Bacoor, Cavite.
