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MRT, LRT privatization won’t prevent fare hike

May 10, 2011

PRIVATIZING Manila’s train lines might not prevent fare increase, a senator said Sunday.
Senator Ralph Recto, chairman of the Senate committee on ways and means, said the P15-billion project to privatize the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) and Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines will not necessarily mean better service for commuters.
β€œWe will pay them P15 billion to operate the rail lines plus, perhaps, they would avail of tax holidays, cheap loans from state banks, and an almost sure option to jack up fare prices,” Recto explained.
He added that the government should let the public know that the deal will not bring in money for the government.
β€œThe people, before any translation is lost, should be informed that the P15 billion price tag for the bundled MRT-LRT privatization is the amount that government will pay the winning bidder, not the amount it would earn from the transaction,” he said.
The lawmaker said that under the proposed operate-and-maintain contract, the winning bidder will not be “obligated to pour in new money in terms of additional rolling stocks or coaches and rail infrastructure.”
Recto has been calling for more coaches so the lines can accommodate more commuters. He said higher passenger volume will pay for the expense of buying new trains and coaches.
He said that the MRT line carries around 150,000 passengers less than it was supposed to and that the shortfall in revenue means yearly government subsidies of around P7 billion.
He said that public-private partnerships like the privatization of the train lines should result in cheaper and better service, otherwise, “if that happens all the time, the people will not support it and they will get angry.” (Jonathan de Santos/Sunnex)

Source: http://www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/local-news/2011/05/09/mrt-lrt-privatization-wont-prevent-fare-hike-154348

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