Passengers try to catch a provincial bus at the Araneta City Bus Port in Quezon City on December 22, 2022. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News/File
MANILA — Provincial bus operators on Tuesday urged President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. to lift the suspension of fare hikes previously approved by regulators in March.
Fuel prices “have reached levels that our operations can no longer absorb,” bus company Victory Liner said in a statement signed in solidarity by the Provincial Bus Operators Association of the Philippines.
It added that fuel accounts for 45 to 60 percent of operating costs, bur fares “have not kept pace with the actual cost of providing safe and reliable transportation.”
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The group also noted that bus operators cannot impose fuel surcharges, yet are required to modernize their fleets and could soon face “further pressure” from providing a wage increase for their workers.
“No industry can survive when its regulated revenue is lower than the actual cost of delivering service,” the statement read.
“We are not asking the Government for ayuda. We are not asking taxpayers to carry our businesses. We are asking for a fair and sustainable fare that reflects the real cost of operating public transportation.”
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The cost of diesel, which powers most of the Southeast Asian country's buses, has effectively doubled since the first US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered the conflict.
The Philippine transport board approved a fare hike in March, only for Marcos to quash the move a day later.
Ticket prices have remained static ever since.
Bus lines said their appeal for rate adjustment was “not a threat to stop operations.”
“This is a notice that operations may soon become impossible,” it said.
“If responsible operators are pushed to insolvency, commuters will ultimately suffer: fewer buses, fewer trips, longer waiting times, and the loss of vital connections between cities and provinces. Thousands of drivers, conductors, mechanics, and support personnel will also face the loss of their livelihoods."
The import-dependent Philippines declared a national energy emergency in March and has been forced to cast an ever-wider net for fuel, including purchases of oil from Russia.
Unlike neighbours including Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, fuel prices in the Philippines are unregulated, leaving local transport firms to deal with market fluctuations.
The Marcos administration gave bus operators a one-off subsidy in March of 10,000 pesos for each of their vehicles.
Separate handouts have been given to transport workers including drivers of taxis and the country's ubiquitous jeepneys.
On Tuesday, the energy department said the country had a 57-day reserve of diesel and enough petrol for 56 days.
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