BEIRUT — The official price of a shared service taxi is expected to rise from LL6,000 to LL10,000 on Oct. 1 if an agreement reached with caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab is upheld, the head of the Federation of Land Transport Unions said on Thursday.
Here’s what we know:
• Bassam Tleis, the head of the federation, cited an agreement made with Diab in July, which also stipulated that the state would subsidize gasoline at LL100,000 and diesel at LL70,000 per 20 liters for taxi drivers, and provide them with ration cards as well as a LL500,000 monthly stipend for maintenance and fuel costs.
• The agreement was reached amid soaring prices after officials partially lifted fuel subsidies, moving from a subsidized exchange rate of LL1507.5 to LL3,900 per US dollar.
• Since then, the central bank announced a controversial end to fuel subsidies, with authorities eventually agreeing to subsidize fuel at LL8,000 to the greenback, sending prices even higher. That agreement is expected to last until the end of September.
• Amid the soaring fuel prices, service drivers have been charging between LL15,000 and LL25,000 in the Beirut area — much higher than the official rate, meaning that the official increase would actually reduce prices.
• “We are working with officials to … preserve everyone’s rights, because there is complete chaos in the market regarding passenger transportation fares. We want to put things back in order and secure a fair transportation cost,” Tleis said after a meeting with other union leaders.
• The official fare change, however, depends on Diab’s July agreement, which has not yet been implemented. In particular, funding for the ration card program — a larger, half-billion dollar program aimed to support Lebanon’s neediest — has not yet been allocated.