CEBU CITY – Commuters in Cebu and Central Visayas are heaving a sigh of relief as transport groups temporarily held in abeyance an earlier petition for a P1 increase in existing fares filed with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) following a decrease in oil pump prices.

According to LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardez, the transport groups are “not withdrawing their petition (but) are just holding it for now because of the recent reduction in the price of fuel.”

Pursuing the petition, Bernardez said, is no longer justified because of the recent reduction in fuel prices.

The petition for a P1-increase in existing fares was initiated by the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association Inc. (CCTODI), umbrella organization of transport groups in the province. Said increase is on top of the current P6.50 minimum fare charged by Cebu transport operators.

CCTODI Chairman Ryan Benjamin Yu earlier stressed that the price of diesel per liter has already jumped by P4.50 and jeepney drivers in Cebu can no longer cope with expenses unless an increase in minimum fare is effected.

While the CCTODI has put aside for the moment their fare increase petition, Yu said the petition will be reactivated once fuel prices are hiked again.

CCTODI’s member organizations include the Alyansa sa Nagkahiusang Drayber-Operator Alang sa Reporma (ANDAR), Southern Cebu Operators and Drivers Association Inc. (SCODAI), Visayan United Drivers Transport Services Cooperative (VUDTRASCO), Cebu Integrated Transport Service Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CITRASCO), Metro Cebu Taxi Operators Association (MCTOA), Cebu Provincial Bus Operators (CPBOA) and the Cebu Truckers Association Inc. (CTAI).