DOTr official says train fares not likely to increase
An official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said a fare increase in the railway sector is not likely despite the three-month long free rides along the MRT-3 that ended on June 30.
''I don't think there will be a fare increase in the railway (sector)... That alone is already an assistance,'' said Undersecretary for Rail Cesar Chavez told dzBB in an interview on Sunday.
Chavez said the government was losing P140 million to P180 million daily when the free MRT-3 rides were implemented from March 28 to June 30.
The Japanese government rehabilitated the MRT-3 line, with President Rodrigo Duterte and Japan Ambassador to the Philippine Koshikawa Kazuhiko inaugurating it on March 23.
On Friday, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr approved a recommendation of the DOTr that free rides will given only to students along the MRT-3, LRT-2 and the Philippine National Railway from August 22 to November 4 for the first quarter of the school year.
Chavez said the economic impact of the free rides being done by the government is being studied. '' Train fares are heavily subsidized by the government even if these are not free,'' he said. DMS
