Marcos offers free LRT, MRT rides today

MANILA, Philippines — To help ease the financial burden of commuters during the holidays, President Marcos is offering free train rides today.

Marcos said about 1.1 million passengers would ride the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Lines 1 and 2 as well as the Metro Rail Transit (MRT) 3, the highest ridership recorded for this year.

“This initiative is a simple way to reduce the costs of our countrymen who are busy preparing for Christmas. I hope it will bring relief and everyone will feel the concern of the government during the Christmas season,” he said.

The government will subsidize P24.42 million worth of train fares today.

Presidential Communications Secretary Cesar Chavez said the highest number of train passengers is usually recorded during the last Friday before Christmas.

He said about 460,000 people are expected to ride the LRT-1. The LRT-2 and MRT-3 are seen to draw 200,000 and 450,000 passengers, respectively.