Rude awakenings
| SHE SAYS |
 |
| Dinah S. Ventura |
The floods, the crimes by men in uniform, and now the price hikes. What a rude way to welcome the new year!
Talk of any cost increases is always painful for those who must survive on low salaries, especially for those who cannot even look forward to a measly increase year after year. It does not matter if the Palace thinks the fare increases are “slight” and “reasonable,” as Presidential Communications Strategy Secretary Ricky Carandang described the new rates in a press conference last week — the people cannot help but react against it.
On the heels of the toll fee increases, the proposed fare hikes for the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and the Light Rail Transit (LRT), the rail networks that connect different parts of Metro Manila, was approved by Malacañang. As of this writing, the LRTA board has yet to give the proposal a go-ahead before it can be implemented.
The Palace explains that the reason for its approval of the fare hike is a realignment of priorities. According to reports, the new fares would range between P21 and P25, or reach P30 at the maximum end. The real cost of an MRT and LRT trip is about P48, so government is spending about P7 billion a year to subsidize MRT operations. If the hikes are implemented, government would save about P2 billion yearly, which could go to projects expected to benefit the entire nation rather than just MRT and LRT riders in the nation’s capital..... MORE
Source: The Daily Tribune
URL: http://www.tribuneonline.org/commentary/20110112com7.html
0 comments
Post a Comment