Train travel
THE rising number of people taking the trains of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) is ample proof that train travel is the best in the Philippines.
This is not surprising in heavily-populated Metropolitan Manila, where the trains of MRT and LRT serve the transportation needs of commuters, mostly workers and students.
Almost every day, monumental traffic jams worry motorists, commuters and traffic authorities during the so-called rush hours in many parts of the metropolis.
That’s why more and more quarters now want the national government to construct more railways in big cities across the Philippines.
In the metropolis, the average daily ridership of MRT-3 trains rose 30 percent in 2023, servicing more than 129 million passengers.
In fact, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) reported that MRT-3’s total ridership rose from only 98.33 million in 2022 to a record 129.03 million passengers last year.
Likwise, MRT-3 records showed that a total of 220,000 passengers benefited from the agency’s free rides program in 2023.
To meet the mushrooming number of people, including foreigners, using the services of MRT-3, management also raised the number of operational trains from 13 to 23.
In the view of many. the government, through concerned offices and agencies, has demonstrated a capacity to uphold public interest by improving its train services.
It’s a move in the right direction.
