MRT, LRT Fare Hike On January 4, 2015

The Metro Rail Transit and Light Rail Transit - MRT and LRT fare hike was scheduled to be implemented on January 4, 2015 - Sunday. MRT and LRT stations had posted the new fare matrix on their terminals to inform the public.

With this, commuters group Riles Laan sa Sambayanan (RILES) Network is planning to hold a series of protests next week to show their opposition for the said implementation.

RILES Network said that their members will schedule activities like clapping their hands while riding the MRT to inform the public of their disagreement on the fare hike.

The Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) earlier said the fare hike for the MRT-3 and LRT lines 1 and 2 will be implemented for this year to modernize and improve services for the masses's sake.

However, the RILES group didn't believe that the increase will help on the improvement of the system.

“Ang improvement nito ay budgeted na ‘yan sa Congreso at malinaw sa kanila na huwag sila magsinungaling dahil malinaw nakasulat diyan na item sa GAA,” said RILES Network convenor Sammy Malunes.

The group may have been referring to the 2 billion pesos allotted budget for the improvement of the MRT and LRT systems.

Meanwhile, the group had found an ally on the congress after Bayan Muna party-list Representative Neri Colmenares said on an interview that he will file a petition on the Supreme Court to postpone the unjustified fare increase.

"Sana huwag munang i-impose ito lalo na't may nakaambang na petisyon sa Korte Suprema. Hintayin sana muna ang desisyon ng Korte Suprema," - the solon said.

Based on the new fare matrices issued by the DOTC, rates for end-to-end trips on the MRT-3 will increase to P28 from P15 (from North Avenue to Taft Avenue and vice versa); P30 from P20 on LRT-1 (from Baclaran to Roosevelt and vice versa); and P25 from P15 on LRT-2 (from Recto to Santolan and vice versa).