Metro Manila buses slash fleet by 20% amid escalating fuel costs

Buses operating in Metro Manila have reduced their number by as much as 20% to save on diesel, whose prices are on a steady rise due to the Middle East conflict.

The operators are also asking the government to subsidize the difference from the P55 per liter price before the war erupted to keep them running. 

Metro Manila Consortium Corporation (MMCC) a group of bus operators in Metro Manila, said it is implementing a “shifting” of operations. 

“Nagbawas kami. Nagkaroon kami ngayon ng rotation. Nagbabawas kami ng bus. Konti lang. Halimbawa, if you have 20 units thing, tapos sabi ng operator, puwede ba bawasan muna natin ng lima? And then yung mga hindi magda-drive, yung lima na ‘yun na ‘yun, they are the priority tomorrow. Shifting. Parang shifting-shifting kami,” Juliet de Jesus, MMCC spokesperson, said. 

(We reduced our fleet.  We are operating on rotation. For example, if you have 20 units, then we ask the operator to reduce it by 5 units.  These five units will be the priority for the next day's operation.  It's like a shifting basis.)

De Jesus also said that to further save on fuel, buses pause their operations during non-peak hours when there are barely any passengers during the day. 

“Medyo nagpapahinga na lang muna yung mga driver kung saan ka nandun, para nun to preserve the fuel, the diesel,” de Jesus said.  (The drivers take a rest to preserve the fuel, diesel.)

At a bus terminal at the NIA Road in Quezon City, bus driver Edwin Bonaobra has been waiting for passengers for three hours. They barely filled their bus on their morning ride. 

“Hindi man lang kami napuno. Galing kaming Road 2 hanggang GMA, ang koleksyon lang namin P 2,700, dati P 3,500,” he said.  (It's hard to fill the bus. From Road 2 to GMA, we only collected P2,700. It used to be P3,500.)

De Jesus fears for the worst. 

“Walang katapusan (oil price increase). Alam mo natatakot ako baka sa next week, another Tuesday, baka sabihin another P30 pesos. HIndi na talaga, matutulog na lang ang mga operation dahil they cannot afford anymore,” she said. 

(The increases are nonstop. We fear that next week, they will say it will increase anew by P30 per liter.  We will just sleep, we cannot afford to continue the operation.)

The MMCC met on Friday to draft a letter seeking an audience with the President so it could propose some measures to ease the burden on public utility vehicle drivers and operators, including a price cap on diesel price at P55/liter, which was the pre-Middle East conflict price. 

De Jesus said they will propose that the government pay for the increase beyond the P55/liter price. 

“Whatever is the difference, hindi natin alam ang mangyayari, baka worse situation, ang isa-subsidize sa amin ng gobyerno ‘dun sa difference. Ang effect nun sa amin is continuous operations,” she said. 

(We don't know what will happen; if the government will subsidize the difference, then we can have continuous operations.)

Meanwhile, PISTON, which conducted its second tigil-pasada protest action in Manila on Friday, said it will file another petition for a fare hike by the end of the month. 

This is after the President suspended the implementation of the P1-2 pesos fare hike for traditional and modern jeepneys. 

“Magpa-file tayo ng kung ano ang sapat na matulungan ‘yung ating mga driver at operator (We ask for an amount, which can help our drivers and operators),” Mody Floranda, PISTON national president, said. —LDF, GMA Integrated News