Ridership at Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT-3) surged 30 percent to 129 million in 2023 from 98.3 million passengers in the previous year as more passengers have returned to on-site work.
Average daily ridership also increased by more than 30 percent in 2023 to 357,198 from the previous year’s 273,141, while the highest single-day ridership was recorded on August 22 with a total of 450,298 passengers.
Jorjette Aquino, Department of Transportation (DOTr) assistant secretary for railways and MRT-3 officer-in-charge, attributed the increase in ridership to the rail line’s enhanced reliability and effective maintenance program, alongside the increased return of more passengers to on-site work.
“Our trains now receive necessary preventive maintenance and upkeep on time, while other subsystems such as tracks, signaling, and power are also properly maintained,” Aquino said.
All of these enhancements translated to improvements in MRT-3 operations.
Travel time is now only 30 to 45 minutes from North Avenue Station to Taft Avenue Station. Headway is as low as 3.5 to 4 minutes during peak hours, with 18 train sets operating.
MRT-3 completed its massive rehabilitation in December 2021 which increased its operating speed from 30 kilometers per hour (kph) to the original 60 kph.
The rehabilitation was carried out by MRT-3’s original builder and maintenance provider, Sumitomo-MHI-TESP.
In May last year, the DOTr extended MRT-3’s maintenance and rehabilitation contracts with Sumitomo, allowing for the sustained effective upkeep of the system until 2025.
Meanwhile, the government is expected to approve and implement the pending petition to increase the fare at MRT-3 by P2.29 with an additional P0.21 for every kilometer this year, according to DOTr.
The proposed fare adjustment is similar to the increase approved for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line 1 and LRT-2 which took effect last August.
DOTr also tapped the Asian Development Bank to help finalize the terms of reference for the bidding of the MRT-3 rehabilitation project as the contract with the private consortium is set to expire next year.
DOTr earlier said it is keen to pursue a solicited bid for the management, operation and maintenance of MRT-3, which set aside the unsolicited proposal submitted by two conglomerates, San Miguel Corp. and Metro Pacific Investments Corp.
The government’s build-lease-transfer contract signed with Metro Rail Transit Corp. will expire in July 2025.
