When you think about it, 50 centavos is really not a lot. If you try giving a street beggar or a parking boy in Katipunan 50 centavos, you’ll probably just end up hurting his pride. I wouldn’t even bother picking that up if someone dropped it on the street. For Ateneans who don’t really ride Jeeps save for outreach programs, they could care less about the fare increase. But to the “Average Joe” (or as in this case the “Average Juan”), the fare increase hurts more than it seems. Think about it. Let’s say you need to go to and from school or work every single day. That would mean an additional peso daily, which leads to an added cost of 30 pesos in a month. For the family who has a very tight budget, this would be equal to 4 packs of Lucky Me Instant Noodles that they won’t be able to eat. For the family that barely gets to eat 3 meals a day, this is disastrous to say the least. And we don’t really have any choice. Transportation is a necessity. It’s the backbone of any economy. No matter how much the fare increases, people will still go along for the ride.
The fare increase is not an issue that only the Average Juan has to bear. This also has repercussions to the well-off. Since oil is a prime commodity, this will greatly affect the prices of other products and services as well. Employers will probably encounter intensified clamor for an across-the-board wage increase. It’s a vicious cycle.
Analysts say that this oil-price hike might go on until July or August… which further diminishes my chances of having my own car. Who knew 50 centavos can have that much effect on my life?
13 comments:
i agree. the way you put it just goes to show how such a small change bring about really significant consequences.
...very nice. ;)
I'm not rich but not poor either but I can tell you that this small fare hike affects me. Being a student, money doesn't come easy. But as a citizen, I'm willing to give it up to help sustain the transport community in the country.
I never really gave this issue much thought, but you really put things into perspective for seemingly unaffected Ateneans like me.
It just really frustrates me that we can't have our own organized transport system like the other countries. Can't our government do the same?
"Little" price changes like these affect people of the masses every time which causes chaos. I really hope that the government will eventually have this fixed.
I commend you for your interest in issues such as this. However, I must say that you should probe deeper into some of the ideas you present. Some of them are hasty generalizations and false analogies. For one, this assertion is behind the idea that consumers should always take the burden: " Thus if the cost of operating increases, it becomes the consumers burden to bear". It should not be the case but we are led to think that it is an if-then situation.
Also, the vicious cycle you pointed out is not really a 'normal cycle'. There are other possibilities but that we never venture into them. It doesn't mean that oil price increases, everything has to increase as well. It is the reasoning that businessmen and the government feeds us. But that is a big BS.
Lastly, what do you need a car for? :) That kind of mentality is actually intensifying the kind of "vicious cycle" you are saying. Look at more progressive countries and in their university campuses, you will find that everyone does the old way: walking and bicycle. :)
When I was in elementary or high school I had the same reaction to oil and transport price hikes as almost all other kids did, which was not to care.
When we were in first or second year college, the Loyola Heights TODA announced a fare hike of some sort (one peso yata), and then I started to care. I take the tricycle once a day on average, and the one peso hurts a bit. I imagine it must be more painful for a large number of other people, but then the tricycle driver's got the same pain too. Heheh. I'm surprised it took the JODA's this long to ask for an increase. I think they deserve it.
first of all, id like to thank everyone for their comments. all of them are very much appreciated.
" Thus if the cost of operating increases, it becomes the consumers burden to bear"
i'm not saying that this should be the case. i'm just saying that more often than not, this is the case. kanino ba pinapataw ang dagdag na gastusin kung hindi sa mga mamimili rin hindi ba? ang layunin naman kasi ng kahit anong negosyo ay mag maximize ng profits. kaya kung pwedeng sagarin ang profit, bakit di mo gagawin?
oh and the thing about having a car, it was only a bit of humor i inserted in there. c'mon, lets be realistic. kung gusto ko ng kotse edi sinabi ko nalang sa magulang ko diba? i didn't really say that i wanted a car. i just said that given the current situation, it might take some time before i actually decide to own one. which is true.
goldman sachs predicted that by the end of this year, oil would reach $200 per barrel. YIKES! the philippines needs to shape up quickly, otherwise we'd have even more hungry people!
Tama ka, singkwenta centavos nga lang ang itinaas ng pamasahe ngunit malaki pa rin ang epekto nito sa karaniwang Pilipino.
Naaalala ko pa yung panahong piso lamang ang pamasahe. Kung ikukumpara mo yun sa otso pesos na pamasahe ngayon, malaki nga ang diprensya. Pero kung isasaalang-alang ang iba pang mga salik na pang-ekonomya gaya ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis, maiintindihan ang pangangailangan sa pagtaas ng pamasahe.
Coming from the lower class, even small increase such as this would greatly affect us. With a low allowance, and a long commute, this would really hurt my budget.
Besides, a fare increase (or an oil price increase) creates a domino effect on the basic commodities sold in the market. We'll be sure to see in the stores an increased price tag in the things that we buy.
It really hurts that a lot of people seem unaffected and doesn't show any concern about these kinds of issues. Buti ka pa, pare.
I AGREE!!!!
Minimum fare for jeep is 8p? akala ko 6.50 for students?
Well maybe the govt should start making itself useful in solving the oil crisis. Why can't they build an effective and SAFE commuting system like the metro in paris or london? In those cities i could navigate and survive all on my own (coming from me that's a lot). but here? iv never stepped foot on an mrt/lrt in my life. Taxis are also forbidden bec they're unsafe daw.
You know what? I think the oil crisis isn't just gonna be till august. It may well be a permanent shortage because duh the earth is running out of resources. We've been consuming for such a long time thinking the supply will never run out but this is the wake up call that everything IS running out.
well sino bang may ayaw ng efficient transport system gaya ng metro sa paris diba? pero obviously, yung pagpapagawa nyan will cost a lot of money. hindi ko alam if we have that money at napupunta lang sa bulsa ng iba. pero im sure na sa bansang nagugutom, hindi siguro siya ang priority. :)
kilala mo si 25 cent? haha.
pero oo nga. may pinupuntahan ako tanchadong tanchado ko na yung pamasahe ko. ngayon bigla ako kinukulang ng pauwi!
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