Provincial bus firms push for fare hike anew

MANILA: In light of the heavy price bumps for fuel in the Philippines, two major Luzon-based bus transportation companies have already made their frustrations known. These are Victory Liner, Incorporated, and Baliwag Transit, Incorporated. 

The statements of the two aforementioned companies did not mince words. The opening hook to their statements, which were both posted on social media just days apart from each other, was, in fact, crystal clear: “Provincial and City bus industries are bleeding.” 

But while the said statement rings heavily, they are not actually asking for an “ayuda” (handout or bailout). Instead, the two major bus companies, the two largest in Luzon, are asking for “a fare that will keep public transport moving.” 

As Baliwag Transit Incorporated’s social media post explained, companies like itself are seeing profits go to red considering that fuel takes approximately 45-60 percecnt of its operating costs. And yet, the fare that they are allowed to collect has not kept pace. 

The aforementioned, of course, places bus transport entities at a disadvantage. It also argued further that airlines and sea transport can impose fuel surcharges on their tickets while land transport can not. 

Both Victory Liner and Baliwag Transit likewise stated that they are not asking taxpayers to carry their businesses, nor does their statement count as a threat to stop operations. 

So what do Victory Liner, Baliwag Transit, and presumably the entire local bus transport industry want? 

Well, the companies have been calling for the President of the Republic of the Philippines, the Senate, and the House of Representatives, the Department of Transportation, the Department of Finance, the Department of Energy, as well as the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to lift the directive that has suspended the previous fare adjustment initiative. If one remembers, this was already approved by the LTFRB last March 2026, but was deferred by President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.

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A look into the fuel price crush

For even vaguely adjacent to cars as a user, commuter, daily passenger, driver, or whatnot, most are probably aware of the skyrocketing prices of fossil fuels, which began earlier this year. 

This started in late February 2026 and was escalated by the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East. Specifically, the critical point of this was the closure of the Straight of Hormuz. There are many reasons behind this conflict, but we won’t get into detail about those here. 

It is pretty clear, however, that the Straight of Hormuz is a major “global energy bottleneck.” About 20 percent of the world’s fossil fuels must pass through this relatively narrow body of water to reach the rest of the world. 

And now, in September 2026, the Philippines has seen the largest single-week fuel price bump since all of this brouhaha started. 

Per Zigwheels Philippines’ previous report, here are the permitted ranges for price adjustments from September 15-21, as well as the estimated price increase that will be enacted from September 22-28: 

Products	Permitted range of price adjustment (from September 15-21)	Estimated, reported price increase (from September 22-28)
Gasoline	P5.68 increase	P4.88 increase
Diesel	P4.31 increase	P8.82 increase
Kerosene	P4.62 increase	P6.47 increase

The price adjustments are staggering and are no doubt a deep cut into the profits for transport companies. 

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