CEBU CITY – A transport group in Cebu has urged the Region 7 office of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB 7) to immediately act on its petition for a P1 fare increase.

Ryan Benjamin Yu, chairman of the Cebu Transport and Allied Services Multipurpose Cooperative (Citrasco), one of the largest transport groups in Cebu, said the series of fuel price hike has adversely affected the transport sector.

The LTFRB, he said, must act on their petition immediately.

LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Bernardez told the Manila Bulletin Friday that the LTFRB 7 could possibly come out with a decision by next week.

“We are acting on the petition and the board knows that fuel prices have not been stable the past weeks,” said Bernardez, adding that he will meet Yu during the transport summit in Bacolod this Friday.

Yu, who is also the chairman of the Cebu Confederation of Transport Operators and Drivers Association Inc. (CCTODI), the umbrella organization of transport groups in Cebu, earlier filed the petition for a P1 increase on the current P6.50 minimum fare.

Yu said the group only seeks a P1 increase for the first five kilometers but not for the succeeding kilometers.

He said the price of diesel per liter has already jumped by P4.50 and jeepney drivers in Cebu can no longer cope with the expenses unless there is an increase in the minimum fare.

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).