Jeepney operators ply routes as drivers head back to provinces

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As a number of jeepney drivers have returned to their provinces as the fuel crisis due to the Middle East conflict is cutting into their earnings, some operators have to drive their vehicles themselves.

In the "24 Oras" report of James Augustin on Thursday, jeepney operator Carlito Garon had to drive the Munoz- Pantranco route himself after his driver returned to his home province.

“Nahihirapan sa taas ng diesel. Hindi na kumikita Binawasan ko na nga yung boundary para maka-survive lang, wala, hindi talaga kaya,” Garon said.

(They are struggling with the high diesel prices. They are not earning. I already lowered the boundary just to survive but it cannot be done.)

The driver is now home in Nueva Ecija, Garon said. He had taken a vacation while diesel prices were high.

Garon has four jeep units, but two other drivers have also expressed a desire to quit, even if the boundary has been lowered to P600 from P700.

“Mahirap, kasi unang-una, nagbabayad ako ng parking, siyempre, suffer ko lahat yun, pagka hindi sila bumiyahe. Kaya nga yung isa ngayon hindi bumiyahe, ako bumiyahe para kahit na paano, makabawi ako ng konti, kahit hindi ako kumita,” Garon said.

(It is hard, because first of all, I pay for the parking fee for my vehicle, of course, I suffer all of that if they do not ply the routes. One of them did not go out, so I had to go out just to breakeven, not even earn.)

Jeepney operator Roger Dela Cruz also found himself in a similar situation, with two out of three of his drivers being unable to ply the roads. They also went home to their provinces.

As a result, he and his son were the ones driving the vehicles.

“Tumataas na yung diesel, hindi na sila kumikita. Tapos malakas din sa diesel itong jeep, umuwi na,” Dela Cruz said.

(Diesel prices went up, they were no longer earning enough. The jeep is uses so much diesel, so they went home.)

Operators said they hoped that the government would do more than provide aid.

“Kung kinakailangan tanggalin ang VAT (value-added tax), tanggalin na nila para hindi tayo mahirapan kasi pagka tulad niyang may VAT, syempre sa aming lahat sa consumer nakapatong yun,” Garon said.

(If the VAT needs to be removed, they should do it, so we do not have a difficult time trying to earn enough anymore because when there is VAT, of course it gets passed to the consumer.)

Meanwhile, Dela Cruz also said raising the fare by even P2 would help, especially if they cannot do anything about the diesel prices. — Jean Mangaluz/BAP, GMA News