AROUND 50 to 70 percent of drivers of passenger jeepneys, bus and UV Express who are members of a transport may have to stop plying their routes by next week.
According to Mar Valbuena of the transport group Manibela, also a member of the National Public Transport Coalition, around 35 percent of their members have already stopped plying their routes because of the continued spike in fuel prices.
Valbuena, however, clarified that what they did was not a transport strike but they were forced to stop due to their losses in income brought about by the high prices of petroleum products.
He said many drivers in their sector have not yet fully recovered due to the limited transportation capacity brought about by the pandemic, and even if restrictions have been lifted then comes the increase in petroleum prices.
Aside from this, Valbuena said that drivers and operators of buses and jeepneys who were part of the service contracting have yet to be paid.
The group is pushing for the suspension of the fuel excise tax and the immediate provision of the fuel subsidy as promised by the government.