HAVE you experienced riding a taxi going to Bacolod-Silay Airport and paid a P500 fare? If yes, it should not be the case.
The Taxi Operators of Negros Occidental (Tono) said this violation on the part of the taxi drivers is called contracting, one practice that has been existing for years already.
Ryan Yap, vice president of Tono, yesterday said they are currently working on changing such system in the local transport sector.
Yap said the organization already had series of meeting with the airport management and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to address the problem through one, implementing a strict policy that measuring the taxi fare from city to airport and vice versa should be metered.
"As of now, commuters are used to pay P500 for one way, whether going or from the airport to Bacolod City," he said, adding that "later on, we will be implementing a strict policy regarding this one."
Some drivers claimed that it will be a loss on their part if they will use taxi meter in measuring the fare rate from the city to the airport, or vice versa, given the increasing fuel prices and maintenance cost.
Yap, however, calculated that the distance from the city to the airport is approximately 24 kilometers. It would consume around two liters of gasoline.
This amounts to only about P110 pesos, so drivers can still earn about P180 if the meter-based fare rate is about P290, Yap said.
"For operators, maintenance side is actually our obligation. Once we enter into the transport business, we already know that part of the operational expenses is the maintenance of our units," he said, adding that "drivers do not pay for the repairs of our taxi units."
Tono president Mario Eusebio, for his part, said other measures being taken by the organization include pushing for a taxi terminal in the city at the same time reactivate the metered taxi terminal at the airport.
Eusebio said metered-taxi terminal would enable drivers to get passengers from Bacolod at P290 and then have another one from the airport at the same rate resulting to more than P500 in two-way fare.
"We have been asking the LTFRB if they could give us a special rate for outside and long distance destinations, but it is still under negotiations so we stick on the meter," he added.
Like overcharging, contracting by not using the meter is tantamount to a P5, 000 penalty per offense.
"We continue to urge our drivers to follow the regulations, or else they will face the consequence," the Tono president also said.
