PITX hits 125,000 commuters in 1 day

MANILA, Philippines — The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) recorded 125,000 commuters in a single day on Dec. 23, an official said yesterday.

“This is the highest tally we ever had, even during the pre-pandemic times. We never had this type of numbers before,” PITX corporate affairs and government relations head Jason Salvador said in a radio interview.

Most of the commuters who went to the terminal did not have a booking, he added.

To address the number of commuters, Salvador said the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) provided special permits to additional buses provided by partner bus operators.

“If there are available buses, the LTFRB provides a special permit, so the sheer number of passengers would be accommodated,” Salvador said.

Bus operators welcomed the additional bus trips after suffering losses due to the COVID-19 lockdowns.

Salvador said only 70 percent of bus capacity would be allowed to maintain physical distancing.

The PITX also had to deal with the buses’ long turnaround time due to heavy traffic along their routes.

Meanwhile, the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) once again recorded its highest ridership amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, the MRT-3 said it had 223,739 passengers on Dec. 23, even with the trains at 70 percent capacity for social distancing – the fifth time in a week that the rail line carried more than 200,000 passengers in one day.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit the country in March 2020, an average of between 200,000 and 300,000 passengers rode the MRT-3 trains each day.