The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board ended its service contracting program and shifted to a fuel subsidy initiative.
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As the five-week service contracting program concluded yesterday, modern jeepneys were seen waiting for passengers at a terminal in Cubao, Quezon City. A shift to a P10 per liter fuel subsidy was announced by the agency to ensure that transport jeeps, UV Express and all transport denominations would be included.
According to Board Member Greg Pua Jr., the board only worked on the eight hundred million-peso budget allotted because there was no crisis yet when the 2025 budget was crafted. He added that the board requested for a budget, although it leaned toward the fuel discount to guarantee wider coverage. A total of 141,724 passenger jeepneys and UV Express units are qualified to receive the subsidies across 4,299 participating gasoline stations nationwide.
Earlier, the Department of Transportation requested for an additional budget of five billion pesos for service contracting. Unless the requested funds are approved by the national government, the budget shortfall would result to further financial strain on drivers trying to cope up with daily operational costs.
Pending the approval, Pua urged local government units to implement their own service contracting initiatives, citing areas, e.g., Naga, Baguio and Cebu province, that are working on a memorandum of agreement. Meanwhile, feedbacks were released by transport groups asserting that the fuel subsidy barely covers the fuel taxes that they demand to be scrapped.
Filipino consumers could soon face higher prices on basic goods as the Department of Trade and Industry reviews possible price hikes linked to rising fuel and operational costs.
