MANILA, PHILIPPINES — The Department of Transportation (DOTr) confirmed that the free Metro Rail Transit-Line 3 (MRT-3) rides will be extended until May 30, 2022, instead of April 30.

The DOTr said in an advisory that passengers will be allowed to ride for free on the restored MRT3 line until May 30, 2022, at any time throughout the line’s working hours starting at 4:40 a.m. until 10:10 p.m

The free trips were first offered from March 28 to April 30 to commemorate the accomplishment of the MRT3’s repair.

The expansion of the free ride program, according to Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade, aims to continue to relieve commuters’ financial burdens in the face of inflation and rising gasoline prices, especially as more workers return to on-site work.

“Gumanda at nagbago ang ridership ng MRT3. Bago mag-pandemya, 260,000. At bagama’t may pandemya, ‘yung ridership ay umaabot sa 280,000. At ngayon, nasa 300,000 na ang naisasakay ng MRT3 at naihahatid nang ligtas, kumportable, at walang aberya. Napapanahon na i-extend pa natin ang LIBRENG SAKAY sa MRT3 upang mas maraming Pilipino ang makinabang,” Tugade said.

(The ridership of MRT3 has changed for the better. Before the pandemic, 260,000. And despite the pandemic, the ridership reached up to 280,000. And now, around 300,000 passengers are safely, comfortably, and conveniently accommodated by MRT3. It is right to extend the LIBRENG SAKAY of MRT3 so more Filipinos can benefit from it.)

Meanwhile, MRT-3 Director for Operations Michael Capati said that since the free ride option was introduced, the MRT-3 has seen a rise in ridership.

“We saw a definite increase in our ridership when we implemented the free ride in MRT-3. So it was also productive on our part since we were able to test the capacity and performance of our fully rehabilitated railway system,” Capati said. 

From March 28 to April 26, the MRT-3 had an average weekday ridership of 306,986, up 26.95 percent from the average weekday ridership of 241,800 from March 1 to 27 prior to the installation of the free ride program.

The MRT3 free ride program has benefited a total of 7,227,434 riders as of April 26, 2022, according to the agency. – WhatALife!

Source: (gmanetwork.com)

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