The Department of Finance (DoF) is recommending a fare hike for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line one and two to cover its operating expenses.

Finance Undersecretary Jeremias N. Paul, said in an interview that the light rail fares have been the same for a long time and are no longer aligned with the fares of Metro Manila buses.

The LRT Line 1 charges P12 for the first four stations and P15 for the rest of the route, while line 2 imposes a fare of P12 for the first three stations, P13 for four to six stations, P14 for seven to nine stations, and P15 for 10 stations.

Paul, however, said the finance department has yet to decide on how much the fare increase should be.

The Asian Development Bank has been urging the government to increase the fares for the two lines of LRT to reduce state subsidies for these facilities.

The ADB said the subsidy that Metro Manila commuters enjoy comes at the expense of all taxpayers.

The proposed fare hike, Paul said is aimed to reform the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA) and reduce its fiscal burden on the national government.

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has also recommended a fare hike of at least P2 for LRT Line 2.

ADB said the state-owned operator LRT Line 1 and 2 would require nearly P800 million a year in subsidies through 2015 if it will not be allowed to raise its fares.

The ADB added the financial restructuring needs of LRTA should be finalized.

“It is estimated that LRTA will require government help of P30 billion to P35 billion to meet its debt obligations over the next seven to eight years,” the ADB said.

Meanwhile, Nearly 250,000 people rode on the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 on Friday- the biggest volume of passengers in a single day since the overhead train started operations in 2003.

LRTA Administrator Melquiades Robles said that 249,085 passengers took the train which plies the Recto to Santolan route on July 2, a hike of 3.3 percent compared to the previous record of 241,125 passengers set on December 4, 2009.

For the first six months of 2009, the LRT Line 2 had a daily ridership average of 193, 284 with 12 trains running at peak hours. At full capacity, the line can oporate 16 trains at the same time.