PHL in the midst of mass transport crisis —Bayan

The Philippines is in the midst of a “mass transport crisis” in light of the recent breakdowns of all three mass rail transit systems, a militant group claimed on Monday.

Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) Secretary General Renato Reyes Jr. tweeted that the malfunctioning Mass Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3), Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT1), and Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT2) should merit a Senate inquiry.

“We have a mass transport crisis as there are too few trains to ferry passengers to work and school. Of the limited trains we have, ALL THREE—LRT1, LRT2 and MRT3, experienced glitches last week. Hindi pa ba ito iimbesigahan ng Senado? Kamusta ang budget ng mga ahensya?”

“All three trains systems suffered glitches last week that disrupted their operations. Most serious of these was the LRT2. I cannot remember a time when ALL THREE— LRT1, LRT 2 and MRT 3 had glitches in the same week,” he added.

We have a mass transport crisis as there are too few trains to ferry passengers to work and school. Of the limited trains we have, ALL THREE - LRT 1, LRT 2 and MRT 3, experienced glitches last week. Hindi pa ba ito iimbesigahan ng Senado? Kamusta ang budget ng mga ahensya?

— Renato Reyes, Jr. (@natoreyes) October 7, 2019

On October 2, the MRT3 had to offload passengers after a technical problem occurred between the Ortigas and Santolan stations.

MRT3, which runs from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City, is operated by the Department of Transportation but is privately owned by the Metro Rail Transit Corporation.

The following day, the LRT 1 halted operations from Roosevelt to Balintawak after experiencing mechanical issues.

Just a few hours later, rectifiers between the Katipunan and Anonas stations of the LRT 2 were razed by fire.

The LRT 2 remained closed on Monday, October 7, with authorities eyeing to resume partial operations on Tuesday.

Thousands of struggling commuters have been left with no recourse but to endure jampacked rides on public utility vehicles and hours in traffic.

“Malungkot, pero ‘yan ang nalilikha ng ganitong mga kundisyon sa kakulangan ng mass transport,” Reyes told a Twitter user

The government owns both the LRT1 and LRT2 lines through the Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), but the two lines have different operators.

LRT1, which runs from Roosevelt along EDSA to Baclaran in Pasay City, is operated privately by the Light Rail Manila Corporation.

The LRT2 is operated by the government also through the LRTA. The train line runs from Santolan in Pasig to Recto in Manila. —VDS, GMA News