If you’re traveling by plane back into Metro Manila in the coming days, then we have some good news for you. That’s because starting June 15, 2022 until June 30, 2022, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) together with Grab Philippines will provide free rides for passengers coming through the arrival areas of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) terminals 2 and 3.
The official announcement from DOTr posted on Facebook
Of note, this is part of the DOTr’s and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board’s (LTFRB) Libreng Sakay Program (Free Ride Program). Specifically, around 100 Grab units will be allocated to NAIA to ferry passengers from NAIA to any point in the National Capital Region for free.
As mentioned, these free shuttle rides will begin on June 15 and will end on June 30. Furthermore, they can only be availed through the Grab booths on Terminals 2 and 3. To this end, we can assume that one cannot get these free shuttle rides via the Grab app.
Moreover, the free Grab rides under the Libreng Sakay Program are only available from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. during the aforementioned dates. So if you’re arriving on one of those very early or very late flights, you might not get the chance to take advantage of these free rides.
With regards to this, the Grab Philippines president thanked the DOTr as well as the Government in general as the Libreng Sakay Program is a huge benefit to the Filipino commuter.
Hopefully, more programs like this will be initiated in these trying times [Photo: Kin Enriquez]
DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade also mentioned that the Libreng Sakay program via Grab is a huge boon to passengers as it will aid them in getting home with less hassles. He also thanked the ride hailing company for its initiative in joining the said program.
For those unaware, the DOTr’s Libreng Sakay program is also available in other forms of public transport in the Metro. For instance, the Metro Rail Transit 3 (MRT-3), has already managed to serve free rides to a whopping 13 million passengers since March 28, 2022.
There are also several public utility vehicles ferrying commuters free of charge on the daily from the North Luzon Express Terminal (NLET) to Cubao, and NLET to the Paranaque Integrated Terminal PITX. This however, is projected to last only until June 2022.
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