The Department of Transportation (DOTr) assured railway passengers there will be no fare increase amid the price hikes in basic goods.
“Maigting po na paalala at instruction ni Secretary (Arthur) Tugade na tayo po ay walang inaasahan at wala po tayong pinaplano na pagtaas pasahe sa linya po ng ating mga tren,” said DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan.
Batan said that even though there are more passengers using the trains now, the number of commuters using the trains has not reached pre-pandemic level.
“Sa LRT-1 ay umabot na tayo ng 182,000 na average riders kada araw, sa LRT-2 naman ay 59,000, saMRT-3 ay 220,000 at higit pa,” he said.
“Ngunit kung ikukumpara natin ito sa ridership natin na pre-pandemic ay hindi pa natin naaabot dahil nga halimbawa sa LRT-1 na 400,000 plus ang ridership natin bago ang pandemic at halos nasa 200,000 pa lang tayo o nasa 40 to 50%,” Batan also said.
Before the pandemic, LRT-2 had 160,000 riders daily. The MRT had a pre-pandemic passengers of 270,000 to 300,000 compared to the 220,000 currently. Ronald Espartinez