Fares up for jeepneys, taxis, buses and TNVS as inflation rises to 6.9%

Why does inflation matter? The continuous rise in the cost of fuel and other basic goods has also led to an increase in fare prices for all public-utility vehicles (PUV). That's why.

The fare hike, announced by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Sept. 16, 2022, took effect on Oct. 3, 2022.

For jeepneys and buses, the changes include:

Meanwhile, the adjustments for taxis and Transportation Network Vehicle Services (TNVS) like Grab include:

The LTFRB said in a statement that PUV operators may not collect increased fares unless they have been issued a new fare matrix.

“Sa inilabas na desisyon ng LTFRB, inaatasan ang bawat PUV operator at driver na maglagay ng updated na Fare Matrix or Fare Guide sa kanilang mga sasakyan na makikita agad ng kanilang pasahero,” it said.

(Translation: In line with the LTFRB’s decision, each PUV operator and driver must install an updated Fare Matrix or Fare Guide on their vehicle that their passengers can immediately see.)

Basic goods are getting more expensive.

The latest data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed that the prices of commodities are still going up.

The agency announced in an Oct. 5, 2022, press conference that the inflation rate for September 2022 hit 6.9 percent, the highest since October 2018. This is up from the 6.3 percent recorded on August 2022.

Inflation refers to the increase in the average prices of various goods and services, such as food, shelter, energy, transportation, and clothing.

For September, the PSA said the most significant contributor to inflation was food and non-alcoholic beverages, which shot up to 7.4 percent from 6.3 percent in the previous month.

This was followed by housing, water, electricity, gas, and other fuels, which went up to 7.3 percent from 6.8 percent in August.

The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP), which implements economic policies to keep prices stable, set an inflation rate target of 2 to 4 percent for 2022. But the PSA said the inflation rate from January to September 2022 has already hit 5.3 percent.

The BSP said on August 2022 that it expects the inflation rate to return to the target range by July 2023 as global oil prices go down.

Do you think the government should do more to keep prices down?