Higher LRT-1, LRT-2 fares set on Aug. 2, MRT-3 eyes price hike

Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, June 19) — The Light Rail Transit Authority will start implementing fare hikes for LRT-1 and LRT-2 on August 2, while the operators of the MRT-3 are set to apply for a similar adjustment in the next two weeks, officials said Monday.

The minimum boarding fee of the two rail networks would increase to ₱13.29 from ₱11, and ₱1.21 for every kilometer travelled from ₱1 per km.

“We at the Department of Transportation (DOTr) believe that this fare adjustment will contribute to maintaining affordable mass transportation services for the two commuter-train lines,” DOTr Assistant Secretary for Railways Jorjette Aquino said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the Light Rail Transit Authority bared the approved fare rates for LRT-2:

The Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the private operator of LRT-1, has also issued its new fare matrix.

Last April, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. ordered the deferral of the fare hike implementation due to its economic impact on commuters.

Related: Marcos orders suspension of fare hike for LRT-1, LRT-2

But, Aquino said in a Monday press conference that Marcos approved the hike implementation in a Cabinet meeting on June 6, "citing that the headline inflation rate has gone down from 6.6% to 6.1% while employment figures are improving."

The last fare hike for the two rail systems was in January 2015.

MRT-3 eyes similar price hike

Meanwhile, MRT-3 director Oscar Bongon on Monday said that the line operators would file a fare hike petition in "two weeks' time."

This hike would be similar to the LRT-1's and LRT-2's approved increase of ₱2.29 boarding fee fare and ₱0.21 per kilometer distance fare.

Aquino said that the government currently subsidizes ₱85 per MRT-3 passenger, and that the end-to-end fare currently sits at ₱115.

She added that if the MRT-3 petition was filed and approved, the government would still subsidize 70% of the line's per passenger cost.