The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) announced that it will be fielding transport units that will provide free rides to commuters. These will serve the route going from the North Luzon Express Terminal (NLET) to Cubao, as well as the route from NLET to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX).
The government is resuming the Service Contracting Program for specific routes
According to a Viber message sent by LTFRB Executive Director Kristina Cassion, each route will have 32 public utility vehicles (PUVs) to ferry commuters free of charge. “Daily ‘yan. The ‘libreng sakay’ is under the Service Contracting Program,” she said.
(That’s on a daily basis. The free ride is under the Service Contracting Program)
The routes will be available on a near 24-hour basis, from 1:00 a.m. until midnight. This is expected to benefit commuters, especially in light of the confusion stemming from the window hours implemented by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) for provincial buses on EDSA.
Cassion adds that the program can be sustained until June 2022, depending on available funds from the national government. The agency also continues to operate free bus rides on the EDSA Carousel and other routes across the country.
Free bus rides along the EDSA Carousel route are still being offered
The Service Contracting Program was suspended in July 2021, coinciding with the end of Bayanihan 2. Both the LTFRB and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have decided to resume it to help the public transport sector, whose income had been adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and rising fuel prices. A total of Php 7 billion has been allocated for the project.
Under the program, participating drivers and operators will provide free rides to commuters in exchange for compensation by the government on a weekly basis. Expenses such as fuel, disinfection, monthly amortization (for units acquired through financing) and other overhead costs are covered.
According to the LTFRB, more routes are expected to be added to the free rides program in the coming days.
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