The Department of Transportation (DOTr) on Wednesday announced the extension of the free rides on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3) until June 30 this year.
At a virtual press briefing, MRT3 general manager Michael Capati said the extension of the free rides on MRT3 aims to continue helping commuters ease their financial burden amid higher consumer prices and rising fuel prices.
“This will allow the MRT3 to further test its capacity and performance in accommodating up to or more than 350,000 passengers,” he said.
The free rides were initially implemented from March 28 to April 30 and were extended further until the end of May.
Capati said the railway line recorded 15,730,872 total ridership from March 28 to May 24, with an average weekly ridership of 315,334.
The MRT3 also recorded its highest ridership at 351,592 on May 20. Capati said the estimated foregone revenues for the MRT3 from March 28 to May 24 amounted to P286 million.
The amount was subsidized by the government from the MRT3’s P7.1-billion budget for operations in 2022.
In addition, Capati expects foregone revenues to reach between P150 million and P180 million with the extension of free rises for another month.
The MRT-3 Management and its maintenance provider, Sumitomo-MHI-TESP, completed the rehabilitation of the rail line last December 2021.
The MRT3 now operates at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour (kph) from the previous 25 kph, while the number of trains has increased from 15 to 23 operational trains.
