MRT operating hours extension still in testing phase
MANILA, Philippines—The extension of operating hours of the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) remains in a testing phase, an official said Friday.
“We will observe if the pattern of the riding public will change,” MRT general manager Al Vitangcol said in Filipino in an interview on Inquirer Radio 990AM.
Vitangcol said that after the four-week testing period, he will recommend to the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) if the extension of operations is necessary.
He said that regularizing the extended hours would be based on the trial’s impact on commuters, daily train maintenance requirements, and additional cost of operation.
The DOTC on Thursday announced that starting Monday, the Metro Railway System will extend its operating hours.
Beginning Monday, the MRT-3 operations will start at 4:30 a.m. at the North Avenue station and 5:00 a.m. from the Taft Avenue station.
From March 10 to 21, its operation will run up to 10:30 p.m. from the North Avenue station and 11:30 p.m. from Taft Avenue station.
Presently, the rail way system operates from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
“The capacity of MRT is really congested. The solution is to buy new trains,” he said citing that congestion usually occurs during peak hours where commuters need to wait to get inside the station.
He mentioned that the riding public would have to endure long ques and congestion in MRT trains after a Makati court temporatily stopped its acquisition of new trains.
The Metro Manila Development Authority has advised the riding public to find alternatives to beat the traffic along the 54-kilometer Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) due to the construction of the Metro Manila Skyway Stage 3 project which started February 17.
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