The free train ride for students will only be available on Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), the Department of Transportation said.
Earlier, the DOTr announced that President Bongbong Marcos approved free train rides for students on Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3), the Philippine National Railways, and LRT-2.
The free rides on the said rail rides will run from August 22 until November 4, which coincide with the reopening of face-to-face classes. The said effort was in consideration of the students’ welfare, “whose learning outcomes have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.”
Meanwhile, Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said the recalibration of free train rides for students had been switched only on LRT-2. He added that the PNR was already “heavily subsidized.”
Chavez explained that the fare price for the end-to-end PNR trip is only P60 instead of P362.
“Sa MRT3 naman, kaya hindi tayo nag-implement ng free ride ngayon sapagkat ang ginastos sa three months and 10 days ang revenue loss P505.9 million [pero] natulungan more or 28.6 million passengers,” Chavez said.
He said that they can no longer continue the free rides for all MRT3 passengers.
“We can no longer afford to implement free ride nang matagal lalong lalo na sa lahat ng linya,” Chavez said.
— Ronald Espartinez