MRT-3 (File photo from Philippine Daily Inquirer)
MANILA, Philippines — Almost 8.5 million commuters have availed the free rides offered by the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 during the first month of the program, MRT-3 management announced Monday.
“The Metro Rail Transit-3 (MRT-3) served close to 8.5 million passengers during the first month of its “LIBRENG SAKAY” or FREE RIDE program, logging a total of 8,472,637 ridership from 28 March to 30 April 2022,” the management said in a statement.
The free ride program started on March 28 and was supposed to end on April 30. However, it was extended until May 30.
The free ride program is available during MRT-3’s entire operational hours from 4:40 a.m. to 10:10 p.m.
The MRT-3 management saw a 27.8-percent increase in the average number of passengers during weekdays after the program kicked off.
The weekday average of passengers from March 1 to 27 is 241,800 and it increased to 309,013 passengers from March 28 to April 30.
The highest single-day ridership, meanwhile, was recorded on April 8 with 335,993 passengers.
MRT-3 said that the free ride program will likewise allow the train line “to continue testing the capacity and performance of its rehabilitated subsystems in accommodating up to or more than 350,000 passengers daily.”
The MRT-3 completed its rehabilitation last December.