Jeepney operators would have to wait for three more days before implementing the P1.50 fare increase until the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) finishes distributing fare matrices by Friday.
On Tuesday, LTFRB Chairman Thompson Lantion said that as of Monday night, a total of 24,874 fare matrices have been distributed to jeepney operators at the board's central office in Quezon City.
Lantion said the number is half of the total fare matrices that should be distributed to jeepneys in Metro Manila.
The LTFRB chief said the fare matrix distribution is being slowed down by the records of jeepneys that are plying new routes.
He said records of jeepneys plying the new or "developmental routes" within cities and municipalities in Metro Manila have to be updated before they are issued copies of official matrices.
The chairman said inter-regional routes of provincial jeepneys entering Metro Manila would also be given fare matrices by the end of the week.
Zenaida Maranan, president of the Federation of Jeepney Operators and Drivers Association of the Philippines (Fejodap), said only 30 percent of the operators under her organization have been given fare matrices.
Maranan said she had told Lantion to consider allowing jeepneys running under the four-kilometer route to charge the P1.50 increase.
Lantion, meanwhile, said the LTFRB is already contemplating on implementing Maranan's suggestion.
The minimum fare increase was approved Thursday last week. It was supposed to be effective a day later.
Aside from jeepneys, the LTFRB also approved fare increases for buses and taxis. The minimum fare for ordinary buses is pegged at P10 and P12 for air-conditioned buses.
An additional P10 tip will also be levied on taxi passengers starting July 23. The LTFRB said taxis with special stickers issued by the board are the only authorized beneficiaries of the increase.