AS I am writing this piece, the LTFRB is in the process of evaluating the fare matrix of all forms of public transportation to agree with the times. Oil prices have drastically increased in the last months and we are only seeing the start of outside movement of people previously locked up because of the pandemic.

What I find increasingly frustrating is the fact that in the issue of rising prices of commodities, fuel price and inflation, the only two sectors being penalized when it comes to public transport are the drivers and commuters.

I have yet to hear the operators being asked to sacrifice a little to help out in trying times.

You see, the Philippine public transportation industry is quite unique in the sense that public transportation is run by private enterprise with very little regulation from government agencies in the conduct of their business aside from route franchises and fares.

Our public transportation system does not really pay salaries to drivers and helpers, even if the government repeatedly claims this is so and the law specifically states so.

What is enforced is the “boundary” system where the operator rents out his jeep or taxi or bus or even tricycle or motorcycle to a driver for a specific amount everyday. The driver goes out and picks up passengers, gets paid and then remit this daily rent or boundary to the operator at day’s end.

The daily boundary, according to some public utility vehicle drivers we talked to, is about 75 percent of the total daily take of the drivers; some even reaching as high as 80 percent. However, the driver will still deposit a certain amount for the maintenance fund and pay for his fuel.

In all, the operator gets his daily rent/boundary without issue while the poor driver has to wrestle with the measly amount he takes home after.

What I am trying to say here is that whatever happens, the owner of the taxi, bus, jeep, tricycle or motorcycle will get the same amount from every unit he owns (P2,000 daily if that is the boundary) and only the driver adjusts for inflation and increase in prices.

Now, when the government decides to help the drivers, the next visible sector to suffer will be the commuters because they will then be the ones to shoulder the increase in transportation fares.

In this configuration, nowhere does the operator suffer, and some will even make more as they increase their boundaries with the increase in fares.

Why does the government not ask these operators to lower their boundaries when times get hard in order to allow bigger take homes for drivers without increasing fares for commuters?

In fact, why does the government not regulate these rent/boundaries of the operators so that they can raise or lower the rates, just like fares, to adjust to the situation of the public, both driver and commuter?