BORACAY – Passengers going to this island resort through the Caticlan jetty port in mainland Malay have to pay twice the previous boat fare.
Regular passengers will have to pay P50 for the boat fare from the previous P25 per trip. Students will still avail themselves of the discount and have to pay P42.50 per trip. Senior citizens and persons with disability, on the other hand, will have to pay P40.
Motorboat operators will also charge an increased P1,200 for a one-way chartered trip to Boracay.
The Caticlan Boracay Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CBTMPC) said the 100-percent increase is due to the rising fuel prices.
It targets to implement the fare hike come Oct. 26 – the scheduled reopening of the famous holiday island.
The cooperative is the sole public boat transport group operating a Caticlan-to-Boracay route and vice versa. It has 60 motorboats and five fiberglass vessels.
CBTMPC chairman Godofredo Sadiasa filed for approval the fare hike at the Maritime Industry Authority in Iloilo City. The request was approved Oct. 10.
The fare increase only applies to passengers who take boat trips that will disembark at the Boracay’s White Beach boat stations.
The Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force has assigned boat stations at White Beach as the temporary disembarking and embarking points in Boracay due to the ongoing road widening and drainage system rehabilitation in the island.
The boat stations will accommodate passengers from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. only.
Night passengers will have to use the Manoc-Manoc cargo area as their drop-off point.
Passengers can still pay the P25 boat fare per trip if they take boat rides from the Caticlan jetty port Reclamation Area to the Manoc-Manoc cargo area at daytime.
At nighttime, passengers taking the same route and vice versa will still have to pay P30. (With Aklan Forum Journal/PN)
Sorry po I hate to be the one pointing this out but php25 to php50 100% increase po yan diba? Hindi po 50%? Hindi ko din po sure para ma check nyo lang.