Metro Manila, Philippines – The Transportation Department will roll out a two-week program beginning Wednesday, April 15, aimed at helping public utility drivers who lost income because of expensive fuel.
Drivers of government-contracted vehicles may earn up to ₱10,000 more per day in addition to the regular fare income under the service contracting program.
Here’s how:
Rates, discounts
Service contracting means the government will incentivize select drivers plying their routes for five days.
The DOTr announced the following rates to be applied per kilometer.
- ₱30 for traditional jeeps
- ₱40 for modern jeeps
- ₱100 for EDSA bus carousel
Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the government will pay drivers for up to 100 kilometers of trip per day.
This means operators and drivers of busway units could earn ₱10,000 more daily, ₱4,000 for modern jeeps, and ₱3,00 for traditional vehicles.
The DOTr said beneficiaries would have to install tarpaulin and posters in their units.
It added that the project covers routes within Metro Manila, Cavite, Laguna and Rizal, benefitting 1,000 transport operators and 50,000 public utility vehicle units nationwide.
The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board will publish routes covered by the program.
A global positioning system will also be installed on the units to monitor the trips.
Meanwhile, commuters taking the government contracted vehicles can avail of a 20 percent discount.
The DOTr said the fare reduction is on top of the 20 percent discount for students, senior citizens, and persons with disabilities.
Budget constraints
In a press briefing, Acting Transportation Secretary Giovanni Lopez said the ₱1-billion budget for the program is good for two weeks.
He said ₱800 million is for road transport vehicles, and the rest for the maritime sector.
“Kailangan paabutin po ito hanggang July hanggang maaari,” said Lopez, adding that his agency already requested ₱5 billion more to the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) to expand the program.
[Translation: We need to stretch the program until July as much as we can.]
Lopez also encouraged local government units to carry out the same project to cover more routes.
