Cap on driving school rates out before March ends — LTO

The Land Transportation Office (LTO) will release an order putting a cap on the fees being charged by driving schools before the end of the month, the agency’s chief said on Saturday.
 
“Hindi matatapos ang month of March magkakaroon na ng order from our office,” LTO chief Jose Arturo Tugade said at the Saturday News Forum.
 
(Our office will release the order before the end of March.)
 
Last month, the agency announced plans to standardize driving schools’ fees amid complaints of exorbitant fees.
 
A complainant said she had to spend up to P18,000 just to secure a driver's license.
 
“Wala talagang suggested fees na sinusunod. Kami po sa LTO, maglalabas kami ng standard fees na kailangan sundin ng ating mga driving schools,” Tugade said.
 
(There are no suggested fees. We at the LTO will come up with standard fees that the driving schools must follow.)
 
“Pero, again, standard fees na ilalabas po namin [are] the maximum,” he said.
 
(But again, the standard fees that we will release are the maximum.)
 
The LTO chief said the agency will conduct a consultative meeting with stakeholders—driving school representatives and the private sector—to get their feedback on the proposed ceiling on fees.

“We studied the opex (operating expenditures) and capex (capital expenditures) to determine a reasonable rate of return,” Tugade said.

Once the order is out, the standardized rates will be effective in April, he said.
 
The LTO offers a free theoretical driving course, but it has limited slots.

The agency charges P100 for student permit applications, P150 for student permits,  P100 for non-professional license applications, and P585 for driver's license applications.

Applicants for a driver's license are required to take theoretical and practical driving courses.  — VBL, GMA Integrated News