DOTr: Free train rides for students now only on LRT2

The free train rides for students has been recalibrated and will only be implemented on Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), a ranking official of the Department of Transportation said on Wednesday.

The DOTr a day after President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s inauguration announced that the Chief Executive approved free train rides for students on Metro Rail Transit  Line 3 (MRT-3), the Philippine National Railways, and LRT-2.

The free rides on the three rail lines were supposed to run from August 22 until November 4 in time for the reopening of face-to-face classes, in consideration of the students’ welfare, “whose learning outcomes have been disproportionately affected by the pandemic.”

Transportation Undersecretary Cesar Chavez said the recalibration of free train rides for students had been focused on LRT-2 since the rides at the PNR were already “heavily subsidized.”

He said the government had already spent a lot for the free rides for all that ran for three months on MRT3.

Chavez said the end-to-end PNR trip or from Tutuban to Calamba should be priced at P362 but the fare is only at P60.

“Sa MRT3 naman, kaya hindi tayo nag-implement ng free ride ngayon sapagkat ang ginastos sa three months and 10 days [ng free ride] ang revenue loss P505.9 million [pero] natulungan more or 28.6 million passengers,” Chavez said.

(For MRT3, we did not implement free rides because for three months and 10 days, the revenue loss was already at P505.9 million but it helped more than 28.6 million passengers.)

The DOTr explained that the decision to not extend the free rides in MRT3, which was implemented by the Duterte administration, the fares in the EDSA railway line were "already heavily subsidized.”

This was vital in its decision to recommend discontinuing the free rides for all MRT3 passengers.

“We can no longer afford to implement free ride nang matagal lalong lalo na sa lahat ng linya (for long, especially on all lines),” Chavez said.

In a press briefing last week, Marcos said that students would "ride for free on LRT2 which is going to the University Belt.”

Chavez said the free train rides for students will be implemented only on LRT2 since it has more student ridership than MRT3 and PNR.

“Sa lahat ng linya, LRT2 ang may pinakamaraming estudyante na sumasakay,” he said, noting that the line catered to 4,500 students everyday before the pandemic.

“Sa MRT3 at PNR, nasa 1,500 students lang everyday. Hindi kasing dami ng nasa Line 2,” he added.

(In MRT and PNR, about 1,500 students ride everyday. Not as many as Line 2’s.)

The DOTr official said the agency’s rail sector will also study how to effectively implement the 20% discount for students on all the government-operated railway lines.

“Medyo may complications sa rail lines kasi nga ‘yung beep card papano mo kakaltasin ng 20% and ang may hawak non how would you know ay isang estudyante,” Chavez said.

(There are complications in rail lines in implementing the 20% discount and in determining if the holders of beep cards are actually students.)

He said the Light Rail Transit Authority’s board will have a meeting on July 22 to discuss how it will implement free rides for students on LRT2 as well as the 20% discount for students in the other rail lines. —NB, GMA News