DOTr extends free rides in MRT-3 line until May 30
MRT-3 management and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) have decided to extend for another month the implementation of the free ride program.
Passengers will be able to continue enjoying free rides at the rehabilitated MRT-3 line until May 30, anytime between the rail line’s operating hours from 4:40 a.m. and 10:10 p.m.
The Japanese government rehabiliated the MRT-3 line.
A total of 7,227,434 passengers as of April 26 have benefitted from the MRT-3 free ride program, which was launched on March 28 and set to initially end by April 30.
Transportation Secretary Art Tugade said the extension of the free ride program hopes to continue ease the financial burden of commuters amid inflation and rising fuel prices, especially with more workers returning to on-site work.
"The ridership in MRT-3 has improved. Before the pandemic (it was) 260,000. Despite the pandemic, the ridership reached 280,000. Now, we have around 300,000 people riding the MRT-3 bringing safe, comfortable and no interruptions. It is about time we extend the free ride in the MRT-3 so more Filipinos can utilize this,” said Tugade.
According to MRT-3 OIC-General Manager and Director for Operations Michael Capati, the increasing ridership of MRT-3 attributed to the implementation of the free ride and the return of many to on-site work has also allowed the rail line to further test its capacity and performance following the completion of its rehabilitation.
“We saw a definite increase in our ridership when we implemented the free ride in MRT-3. So it was also productive on our part because we were able to test the capacity and performance of our fully rehabilitated railway system,” said Capati.
MRT-3 recorded an average weekday ridership of 306,986 from March 28 to April 26, a 26.95 percent increase from the average weekday ridership of 241,800 from March 1 to March 27 2022 prior to the implementation of the free ride program.
The highest single-day ridership was recorded on April 8 with 335,993 passengers, took the MRT-3, a 19.4 percent increase from the record-high 258,989 ridership logged on March 25 before the free ride program.
The MRT-3 recorded an average weekday ridership of 250,000 to 300,000 prior to the pandemic.
Capati added the extension of the free ride program will further allow the MRT-3 to test its capacity in accommodating up to or more than 350,000 passengers daily.
To augment the rail line’s capacity, the MRT-3 Management will also continue deploying 4-car CKD train sets on the revenue line during peak hours. A 4-car train set can accommodate up to 1,576 passengers.
The MRT-3 Management and its maintenance provider, Sumitomo-MHI-TESP, completed the rehabilitation of the rail line last December 2021. On March 22, no less than President Rodrigo Duterte led the inauguration of the fully-rehabilitated MRT-3 at the Shaw Boulevard station in Mandaluyong City.
Following its rehabilitation, the MRT-3 operates at the speed of up to 60 kph from the previous 25 kph.
The number of trains have also increased from as few as 15, now up to 23 operational trains. Meanwhile, the headway or the waiting time between trains has been reduced from around 10 minutes to as low as 3.5 minutes.
Under the MRT-3 rehabilitation project, the entire stretch of the line's mainline tracks was replaced and rehabilitated. Also upgraded were the line's power supply, overhead catenary system, rolling stock, communications and signaling system, stations, as well as depot facilities and equipment. DOTr
