FOR the third straight month, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) will offer passengers free rides as the “Libreng Sakay” program has been extended anew until June 30, 2022.

Launched on March 28, 2022, the “libreng sakay” or free ride program was set to end originally on April 30, 2022, but was extended for another month until May 30, 2022.

In light of positive feedback from commuters who benefitted from the program and continued serving more passengers affected by rising fuel prices and inflation, the MRT-3 and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have decided to extend the free ride program until the end of June.

The free ride program will remain available to all passengers who take the MRT-3 anytime between the rail line’s operating hours from 4:40 a.m. and 10:10 p.m.

“Malaking kapakinabangan ‘yung libreng sakay para sa ating mga kababayan. Yung malaking natitipid nila sa pamasahe at ‘yung comfort and convenience ng paggamit ng isinaayos na MRT-3, gusto natin magtuloy-tuloy yan. Kaya naman, napagdesisyunan po natin na i-extend ang libreng sakay ng isa pang buwan para na rin mas marami pang pasahero ang makinabang at matulungan ng programa,” said DOTr Secretary Art Tugade.

MRT-3 OIC-General Manager and Director for Operations Michael J. Capati, meanwhile, emphasized the record-breaking achievements of MRT-3 during the implementation of the free ride, including hitting a 351,952 ridership on May 20, 2022, the highest number of passengers that the line recorded since it went back to operations on June 2020.

From March 28 to May 24, 2022, the MRT-3 has served 15,730,872 passengers under the free ride program, with 315,334 passengers taking the MRT-3 on weekdays.

OIC-General Manager Capati said the extension of the free ride program will further allow the MRT-3 to test its capacity and performance following the completion of its massive rehabilitation.

“We are now in the stage of testing the performance of our subsystems following the success of our full-scale rehabilitation. We hope to cater to more passengers with the extension of the ‘free ride’ program, as well as showcase the improved services of the MRT-3 and restore the public confidence in our mass transport system,” said MRT-3 OIC-General Manager Capati.

To achieve this, OIC-General Manager Capati said the MRT-3 will continue deploying 4-car train sets for revenue, which can accommodate up to 1,576 passengers.

This will ensure that the MRT-3 is fully-capacitated to serve and accommodate passengers of up to or more than 350,000 daily.

The MRT-3 Management and its maintenance provider, Sumitomo-MHI-TESP, completed the rehabilitation of the rail line last December 2021.

On March 22, 2022, President Rodrigo Roa Duterte himself led the inauguration of the fully-rehabilitated MRT-3 at the Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong City.

The massive rehabilitation allowed the MRT-3 to double its operating speed to 60kph from the previous 25 to 30kph.

The headway or waiting time between trains has also been trimmed to 3.5-4mins from 8.5-9 mins.

Moreover, the number of MRT-3’s operational train sets has increased to 22 trains, a far cry from the 10-15 trains daily that the MRT-3 Management can only deploy before.

The MRT-3 rehabilitation project was launched in 2019 to restore the rail transport system to its original, high-grade condition.

The project involved upgrading the entire rail line subsystems, including its mainline tracks, which have been fully replaced and destressed; its power supply and overhead catenary system; rolling stock; communications and signaling system; and stations as well as depot facilities and equipment. By Jun I. Legaspi