Free rides at Edsa Carousel will continue until July 31

Commuters queue to ride the EDSA Bus Carousel in Monumento, Caloocan City. (File photo by GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE / Philippine Daily Inquirer)

MANILA, Philippines — The “Libreng Sakay,” or free ride, program at the Edsa Busway Carousel will continue until July 31 even though the Service Contracting Phase 3 of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will end on June 30.

The LTFRB, which is implementing the project, made the announcement in a statement issued on Wednesday.

According to the statement, 118 routes in Metro Manila under Phase 3 had already ended under the 2022 General Appropriations Act (GAA) and 28 other routes will end on June 30.

The extended free ride program will start at 4:00 a.m. and end at 11 p.m. daily, the LTFRB said.

A total of 203,639,626 passengers had benefited from the program since its first phase. That phase had a total of 65,256 participating public utility vehicles,  4,461 open routes, and 2,197 participating corporations and cooperatives nationwide.

Under the program, operators and drivers received benefits based on the number of trips they made weekly, regardless of the number of passengers on those trips.

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