LRT 1 minimum fare up from P15 to P20 in April
COSTLIER RIDE An end-to-end ride on the Light Rail Transit Line 1 will cost P55 on April 2, up from the current P45 under the new fare rates approved by the Department of Transportation. —Inquirer file photo
MANILA, Philippines — Starting on April 2, passengers of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT 1) will pay more for their rides after the Department of Transportation (DOTr) approved the fare increase petition of the railway’s private operator, which seeks to recover billions of pesos spent on train upgrades.
In an advisory on Tuesday, the Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) announced that the base fare would be hiked to P16.25 from P13.29, while the additional fare per kilometer (km) would rise to P1.47 from P1.21.
An end-to-end ride would cost passengers P55, up from the current P45, while the minimum fare would increase to P20 from P15.
The fare hike petition was granted on Feb. 14.
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Article continues after this advertisementThe approved fare matrix was lower than what the LRMC had asked for. In the original petition, the LRT 1 operator wanted to increase the base fare to P18.15 and the per-km fare to P1.65.
Article continues after this advertisementThe DOTr explained earlier that there was a possibility of the petition being approved but the hikes would be lower.
P45-B investment
LRMC president and chief executive officer Enrico Benipayo previously said the fare hike would help the company recover P45 billion worth of investments it had made to upgrade the railway system.
In November last year, the first phase of LRT 1’s Cavite extension line was opened to the riding public. It links Baclaran Station in Pasay City to Dr. Santos Station in Parañaque City.
The remaining stations of the extension line are Las Piñas, Zapote, and Niog in Cavite. Bautista previously said they were eyeing to start constructing these by 2025.
The entire railway extension is estimated to be up and running by 2031.
Deficit
In addition, Benipayo said the fare hike would improve the financial health of the company, which has accumulated a fare deficit of P2.17 billion since 2016.
Under the concession agreement, Benipayo noted that fare adjustments are allowed every two years but in the past nine years, only one was granted in 2023.
Before the fare hikes were approved in 2023 and this year, the last one that was green-lighted by the government for LRT 1 was in 2015. The LRMC filed petitions for fare rate adjustments in 2016, 2018, 2020, and 2022 but these were all deferred.
