Fare Rollback in Jeepneys!!!
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In my more than 12 years here in Manila, it was the first time I heard and seen implemented a price rollback on jeepney fares. And to top it all, I didn’t know about it until the driver gave me back the extra 50 centavos I gave him. I was surprised because I did not expect that and then I remembered that a there was a proposal a couple of months back on rollback. I also realized by then that I hadn’t read the papers for several days already and it has been quite sometime since I last checked inq7.net and abs-cbnnews.com. In short, I didn’t know what was happening around me (except for that pesky charter change of JdV and Asian Games).
I actually have mixed reaction on the price adjustment. Yes, the people are generally happy with it but it also mean less revenue for the drivers and operators. I’m sure some operators will refuse to adjust the boundary. The sad thing here is that it’s Christmas time and the drivers and their families will be expecting less income during holidays season. On the other hand, the general riding public would surely be glad with it. It may not be much (P0.50 for 6 rides from home to office and back is only P3.00 daily), it will still help. That P3.00 daily for 12 days, if saved, will be able to buy a nice present for the kids on Christmas. For the part of the driver, this means at least P10 per trip(it can go as high as P30 per trip) loss and in a six-trip day, would be very significant already.
But that’s part of life. Actually, the P1.00 increase earlier this year was too much and I think this price adjustment only corrects that error. Although belated, it still is a welcome change.