WHILE Light Rail Manila Corp. (LRMC) is making good on its promise to deliver quality service through better infrastructure based on key performance indices under its concession agreement, it wants the government to do its end of the bargain—a fare increase.
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. CEO David J. Nicol said his group, a major investor in the railway company, hopes that the government will honor the terms of the contract, and allow the firm to increase tariff collections.
The private company operates the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1.
“Despite the great job on LRT 1, we are adrift from the concession terms there and, obviously, this further complicates things,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Nicol was lamenting how the company has transformed Southeast Asia’s first overhead railway system over the last few years, and how the government kept on deferring tariff adjustments, similar to other contracts the investments company holds.
Currently, the company has two pending fare-increase petitions before the LRT Authority (LRTA): One filed in 2016, which was due for August that year, and another filed in March 2018, one that is due for implementation this August.
“What we’re doing right now is coordinating with LRTA to go to the process, which involves publishing, public consultation and then approval if we’re allowed to increase the fares,” LRMC President Juan F. Alfonso said on Tuesday.
Under the concession agreement, the company is allowed to adjust fares by 10.25 percent every two years.
Since the fare increase was deferred in 2016, the company is now seeking to increase fares at an average of about P5 to P7 per ride. Currently, fares in the railway line are computed by boarding fare plus distance, which roughly translates to P12.13 plus P1.10 per kilometer (km).
Hence, with the petition, a short-distance ride—or about 1 km to 5 km—would add about P4 for a total of P19; a medium-distance ride—5 km to 16 km—would add about P5 for a total of P25; and a long-distance ride—16 km and beyond—would add about P7 for a total of P37.
“This is to catch up to where we are in 2018,” Alfonso explained. “We want to follow whatever is in the agreement with the government.”
The concession agreement provides of the company with mechanisms to fend off the government’s refusal to implement fare adjustments, such as disputes on arbitration courts, and subsidy.
“We’ve made improvements and investments, and we also need government support in terms of getting the tariff that was in the concession agreement,” Alfonso said.
The company has invested P7.5 billion in the railway system so far since it took over in 2015, and this does not include the extension of the train facility to the province of Cavite.
It has yet to receive the right-of-way from the government for it to start constructing the line’s extension all the way to Niyog, Cavite.
“Our intention is to build from Sucat going to the west. We feel that the right-of-way is at a state where we can start toward the latter part of this year,” Alfonso said.
Targeted for completion in about four years after the delivery of the right-of-way, the 11.7-kilometer Cavite extension will connect into the existing system immediately south of the Baclaran Station and run in a generally southerly direction to Niyog, Cavite.
It will consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment, except for the guideway section in Zapote, which will be located at grade.
Eight new stations will be provided with three intermodal facilities across Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City and Cavite. The new stations are Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niyog. The intermodal facilities shall be located at Dr. Santos, Zapote and Niyog.
The new stations will be accessible to and from nearby community facilities, such as shops, schools, stadium and park, and will be located to suit passenger-flow routes from residential areas.
Pedestrian access to all new stations will be direct, safe and easy. Details, such as lighting to distinguish access points, pedestrian-cross striping and curb cuts for handicapped access, will be provided.
During the first quarter of the year, the company saw marked improvements in operations versus a year prior. It now operates with 109 train cars versus only 100 in the same month in 2017. Daily ridership also grew by 4 percent to 459,400 passengers, and daily trips rose by 9.7 percent, from 505 trips to 554 trips.
It expects to cap the year with 121 operational train cars.
LRMC is a joint venture controlled by Metro Pacific and Ayala Corp.
With Sharmaine O. Paden
Metro Pacific Investments Corp. CEO David J. Nicol said his group, a major investor in the railway company, hopes that the government will honor the terms of the contract, and allow the firm to increase tariff collections.
The private company operates the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1.
“Despite the great job on LRT 1, we are adrift from the concession terms there and, obviously, this further complicates things,” he told the BusinessMirror.
Nicol was lamenting how the company has transformed Southeast Asia’s first overhead railway system over the last few years, and how the government kept on deferring tariff adjustments, similar to other contracts the investments company holds.
Currently, the company has two pending fare-increase petitions before the LRT Authority (LRTA): One filed in 2016, which was due for August that year, and another filed in March 2018, one that is due for implementation this August.
“What we’re doing right now is coordinating with LRTA to go to the process, which involves publishing, public consultation and then approval if we’re allowed to increase the fares,” LRMC President Juan F. Alfonso said on Tuesday.
Under the concession agreement, the company is allowed to adjust fares by 10.25 percent every two years.
Since the fare increase was deferred in 2016, the company is now seeking to increase fares at an average of about P5 to P7 per ride. Currently, fares in the railway line are computed by boarding fare plus distance, which roughly translates to P12.13 plus P1.10 per kilometer (km).
Hence, with the petition, a short-distance ride—or about 1 km to 5 km—would add about P4 for a total of P19; a medium-distance ride—5 km to 16 km—would add about P5 for a total of P25; and a long-distance ride—16 km and beyond—would add about P7 for a total of P37.
“This is to catch up to where we are in 2018,” Alfonso explained. “We want to follow whatever is in the agreement with the government.”
The concession agreement provides of the company with mechanisms to fend off the government’s refusal to implement fare adjustments, such as disputes on arbitration courts, and subsidy.
“We’ve made improvements and investments, and we also need government support in terms of getting the tariff that was in the concession agreement,” Alfonso said.
The company has invested P7.5 billion in the railway system so far since it took over in 2015, and this does not include the extension of the train facility to the province of Cavite.
It has yet to receive the right-of-way from the government for it to start constructing the line’s extension all the way to Niyog, Cavite.
“Our intention is to build from Sucat going to the west. We feel that the right-of-way is at a state where we can start toward the latter part of this year,” Alfonso said.
Targeted for completion in about four years after the delivery of the right-of-way, the 11.7-kilometer Cavite extension will connect into the existing system immediately south of the Baclaran Station and run in a generally southerly direction to Niyog, Cavite.
It will consist of elevated guideways throughout the majority of the alignment, except for the guideway section in Zapote, which will be located at grade.
Eight new stations will be provided with three intermodal facilities across Pasay City, Parañaque City, Las Piñas City and Cavite. The new stations are Aseana, MIA, Asia World, Ninoy Aquino, Dr. Santos, Las Piñas, Zapote and Niyog. The intermodal facilities shall be located at Dr. Santos, Zapote and Niyog.
The new stations will be accessible to and from nearby community facilities, such as shops, schools, stadium and park, and will be located to suit passenger-flow routes from residential areas.
Pedestrian access to all new stations will be direct, safe and easy. Details, such as lighting to distinguish access points, pedestrian-cross striping and curb cuts for handicapped access, will be provided.
During the first quarter of the year, the company saw marked improvements in operations versus a year prior. It now operates with 109 train cars versus only 100 in the same month in 2017. Daily ridership also grew by 4 percent to 459,400 passengers, and daily trips rose by 9.7 percent, from 505 trips to 554 trips.
It expects to cap the year with 121 operational train cars.
LRMC is a joint venture controlled by Metro Pacific and Ayala Corp.
With Sharmaine O. Paden
