The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board has allowed the collection of bus fare at the EDSA Bus Carousel from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. daily.
The government could no longer give free rides on the EDSA Bus Carousel for 24 hours, thus allowing the fare box system, the LTFRB said, adding there were fewer buses plying the route.
But the agency said it would issue a new order to ensure the carousel’s continuous operation, so commuters would no longer endure long queues at its terminal area.
The “Libreng Sakay” program for the EDSA Bus Carousel is only available from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m. until December 2022.
In July, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. extended the free rides at the EDSA Bus Carousel until yearend and approved free rides for students on Metro Manila’s trains and the Philippine National Railways.
The free train rides for students on the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3), Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT2), and PNR would be from August 22 until November 4, 2022, the Department of Transportation said.
Citing a portion of its memorandum which Marcos approved, the DoTr said it considered the availability of the budget for Service Contracting under 2022 General Appropriations Act for the extension of the free bus rides.
The Transportation Department said the move would “ease the burden of rising living expenses on Filipino families and help them save money, especially with the return of face-to-face classes after more than two years.”
While the government ended the free rides for passengers other than students on MRT3, the DOTr said it recommended free rides for students in MRT3, LRT2, and PNR in consideration of the students’ welfare, “whose learning outcomes have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.”
As for its decision to not extend the free rides in MRT3, which was implemented by the Duterte administration, the DOTr said the fares in the EDSA railway line were “already heavily subsidized.”
This was vital in its decision to recommend discontinuing the free rides for all MRT3 passengers, the Transportation Department said.
