Over 2.8 M passengers avail of DOTr’s 12-day free train ride program
MANILA, Philippines — Over 2.8 million passengers benefitted from the Department of Transportation’s (DOTr) 12-day free train ride program from December 14, 2025 to December 25, 2025.
According to the DOTr on Friday, a total of 2,841,788 passengers availed free rides from the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, Light Rail Transit (LRT) 1 and 2 during this period. The DOTr launched the “12 Days of Christmas – Libreng Sakay” program for different sectors each day while all passengers were entitled to a free ride on Christmas Day.
READ: DOTr offers free MRT-3, LRT rides for different sectors until Dec. 25
Among this figure, the DOTr said that the MRT-3 served the most number of passengers with 1,183,950, followed by LRT-1 with 1,091,951 passengers, and LRT-2 with 565,887.
Most number of passengers availing free rides were recorded on December 25 at 835,777 across all three rail lines, followed by the December 18 ridership at 550,138 for both persons with disabilities and male passengers.
One of the sectors provided with free train rides was the LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual) community on December 22. Some of the LGBTQIA+ members who availed the free ride said that the initiative made them feel “seen” and “valid.”
READ: Free train rides help LGBTQIA+ riders feel ‘seen, validated’
Further, Akbayan party-list Rep. Perci Cendaña said that this is a big step for the government to recognize the community as an “official sector.” He then urged the Congress, and not just the Executive, to recognize the rights of the community and pass measures for them.
DOTr Secretary Giovanni Lopez said that the high turnout of ridership shows how important public transportation is to the lives of many Filipinos.
“This overwhelming response demonstrates the importance of accessible public transportation in the lives of Filipino families, especially during the Christmas season. We are honored to serve almost 3 million commuters through this program, providing them with safe, reliable, and free transportation as they celebrate the holidays with their loved ones,” Lopez said in a statement. /das
