EDSA Bus Carousel ‘libreng sakay’ to run for 24 hours starting December 15

Good news awaits commuters as the operating hours of the free ride program for the EDSA Bus Carousel are set to be extended to 24 hours during the last two weeks of its implementation in December.

The “Libreng Sakay” program of the Department of Transportation (DoTr) currently runs from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., according to Joseph Morong’s report on “24 Oras”. It will be extended starting December 15 to 31.

Secretary Jaime Bautista said the DoTr will exhaust the remaining funds in the P1.4 billion budget allocated for the free ridership program with the extension, which is seen to benefit more passengers due to the expected influx of people in malls amid the Christmas Season.

“Limited and budget natin, no? And pagkakasyahin natin para naman ma-enjoy ng ating mga pasahero,” said Bautista.

(Our budget is very limited, right? But we’ll try to make use of it wisely for the benefit of our passengers.)

The “Libreng Sakay” program for the EDSA Bus Carousel is set to expire by year-end and will not be extended due to the lack of budget.

To recall, the DoTr previously asked the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for a P12 billion budget next year for the continuing of its service contracting program which also covers the EDSA Bus Carousel.

But the DBM did not include it under the 2023 National Expenditure Program, saying it is not a regular item and it was only implemented to aid the transportation sector amid the COVID-19 outbreak.

“Kung bibigyan kami ng ganitong budget ay ipagpapatuloy po natin ang programa na rin, maski on a limited basis,” said Bautista.

(If we're given a budget we’ll try to continue to program even on a limited basis.) — Sundy Locus/DVM, GMA Integrated News