Free MRT-3 rides extended until May 30

Passengers avail of the free rides at the MRT-3. Image from DOTr-MRT 3 Facebook

MANILA, Philippines — Free rides on the Metro Rail Transit 3 have been extended until May 30, the line’s management announced on Wednesday.

In an online briefing, MRT-3 Director for Operations Michael Capati said the commuters can avail of the free rides during the MRT-3’s operating hours from 4:40 a.m. to 10:10 p.m.

Capati said the free ride service was extended to “continue helping our commuters ease their financial burden amid inflation and rising fuel prices.”

The MRT-3 free ride service started last March 28 and was supposed to end on April 30.

The free ride service was initially offered to mark the completion of the MRT3 line’s rehabilitation.

Capati added that the MRT-3 saw an increase in its ridership since the free ride service was offered.

“We saw a definite increase in our ridership when we implemented the free ride in MRT-3. So it was also productive on our part because we were able to test the capacity and performance of our fully rehabilitated railway system,” Capati said in a statement.

The MRT-3 recorded an average weekday ridership of 306,986 from March 28 to April 26, which is a 26.95 percent increase from the average weekday ridership of 241,800 from March 1 to 27 prior to the implementation of the free ride service.

A total of 7,227,434 passengers have availed the free MRT-3 rides as of Tuesday, according to Capati.

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/MUF