PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte announced that rides at the MRT-3 will be free for more than one month, or from the date of his birthday until the end of April.
During the rehabilitation completion ceremony of the MRT-3 along Shaw Boulevard in Mandaluyong City, Duterte said rides at the MRT-3 will be free starting from his birthday, March 28, until April 30 of this year.
He said this is part of and proof that the MRT-3 service has already improved.
Aside from the completion of the rehabilitation of the MRT-3, this is also proof that his administration continues to keep the momentum of improving further the country’s national road system that seeks to provide quality service to the riding public while the country continues to tread on its journey towards the new normal.
From the former 25 kph speed of the train, this has already improved to 60 kph, according to the president.
He added that the gap or interval of waiting for a train to arrive is now at an average of four minutes from the old nine minutes.
Also, the president said the number of trains operating daily has also gone up to 18 to 22 units from the old 12 to 15 units only in order to provide service to more passengers.
He said he is expecting that since the rehabilitation of the MRT-3 has been completed, incidents of train mechanical trouble that causes delays in unloading incidents will now be avoided and soon be a thing of the past.
All MRT-3 stations, he added, will now be more accessible since the elevators and escalators in all stations are now fully operational.
Duterte likewise thanked the government of Japan for its assistance in the rehabilitation of the MRT-3.
He emphasized further that ever since, Japan has been a friend of the Philippines in these kinds of development projects.
According to him, this project is part of the efforts of the administration to further improve connectivity and mobility, aspects that are critical in economic growth.