The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will seek an additional budget of P1.4 billion to fund the free rides at the EDSA Bus Carousel until December 2022.
DOTr Secretary Jaime Bautista said at the Laging Handa virtual briefing yesterday the amount is not available in the agency’s existing budget.
“We will ask for additional budget from the Department of Budget and Management,” Bautista said.
Originally set to end this month, the free ride service will be extended following President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.’s approval of the memorandum submitted by DOTr.
The memo stated that considering the availability of budget for Service Contracting under the 2022 General Appropriations Act, DOTr recommends the continuation of the Libreng Sakay Program for all passengers of the EDSA Bus Carousel.
DOTr will also implement the Libreng Sakay for students program at the Metro Rail Transit line 3 (MRT-3), Light Rail Transit-2 and the Philippine National Railways, while it ended the free rides for all MRT-3 passengers last June 30.
The Libreng Sakay for students program will be implemented in the first quarter of school year 2022-2023, or from August 22 to Nov. 4, 2022.
In addition, DOTr is carefully calibrating its existing land transport programs to effectively and efficiently serve the increasing number of commuters.
Bautista directed road transport and infrastructure undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor, railway undersecretary Cesar Chavez, and Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairperson Cheloy Garafil to ensure continuous implementation of the Service Contracting Program (SCP), Libreng Sakay Program, and to fast-track the rationalization of public transport routes.
Bautista also directed the immediate release of P1,000 fuel subsidy to the target 617,806 qualified tricycle driver-beneficiaries as listed by the Department of Interior and Local Government , full deployment of all 550 buses in the EDSA Busway especially during rush hours, and availability of equity subsidy as down payment for the acquisition of modern public utility vehicles under the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.
Bautista is also set to meet with the bus consortium operating the EDSA Carousel route and other concerned government agencies to ensure sufficient deployment of buses to accommodate increased passenger demand due to the resumption of face-to-face classes.
“We are also looking at accelerating the grant of franchise instead of just permits for buses on critical routes used by students such as Katipunan, Commonwealth (and) Recto avenues,” he added.
Bautista said the DOTr will coordinate with other government agencies such as the Commission on Higher Education, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority, Department of the Interior and Local Government, among others, to address the issues on public transportation.
