MANILA, Philippines ? The Metro Rail Transit?s (MRT) half-a-million passengers a day will have to bear the burden of a hike in ticket prices soon as the new administration finds ways to keep expenses in check.

Passengers using Metro Manila?s two Light Rail Transit (LRT) lines will also have to be charged higher rates to cover the rising price of electricity and other costs needed to run the trains.

The Department of Transportation and Communications said the much-needed fare hike will help the government improve operations and increase the capacity of the overcrowded train lines.

?Sigurado na ang taas pasahe (There?s no stopping the fare hike),? Transportation and Communications Undersecretary Dante Velasco said in an interview.

?The MRT?s operational costs and government subsidies are growing. The new government?s policy is to reduce these subsidies,? he said. ?These subsidies are hurting the nation.?

To get from one end of the MRT line to another currently costs P15, making the train one of the most efficient ways to travel in Metro Manila.

However, the real cost of transporting a passenger on the train may go as high as P60. The difference, Velasco said, is shouldered by the national government, or taxpayers, including those who live outside Metro Manila.

?We are now adopting a ?users pay? concept, wherein the people who use the trains are the ones who pay for the costs. When the government provides subsidies, all tax payers, whether they use the trains or not, are forced to pay,? Velasco said.

Earlier this month, DOTC officials said the government would also look for other ways to make money at the MRT to cover costs so as not to put the entire burden on the riding public?s shoulders.

In his first State of the Nation Address, President Aquino said ordinary tax payers have been forced to foot the bill of the rising costs of running the trains because of the previous administration?s refusal to hike fares.

Velasco said a hike in LRT fares was also being mulled. ?We?re looking at it one train line at a time,? he said.

LRT Authority Administrator Melquiades Robles said a fare hike on the LRT lines 1 and 2 is badly needed due to rising costs.

?There is an urgent need to increase fares. We just have to set a board meeting and discuss the new rates,? Robles said.

?The last time we had an increase was seven years ago,? Robles added.