DOTr needs additional P1.4B for libreng sakay to continue until December

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) will have to secure additional funding of P1.4 billion should it continue with the free rides for commuters until the end of the year, an official said Monday.

According to Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista, the free bus rides at the EDSA Carousel only have a fixed budget and the department will have to coordinate with the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) for more.

“‘Yun pong libreng sakay diyan sa EDSA Carousel ay mayroong certain budget. Kung itutuloy po natin ‘yan hanggang December, we will need additional budget of around P1.4 billion which hindi ho available sa existing budget namin,” he said during the Laging Handa briefing.

[The free rides at the EDSA Carousel have a certain budget. If we continue this until December, we will need an additional budget of around P1.4 billion which is not available in our existing budget.]

President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. earlier this month extended the free rides at the EDSA Bus Carousel, along with free rides for students on rail lines in Metro Manila.

“Kung kailangan nating ituloy hanggang December 31, we will ask for additional budget from the Department of Budget and Management. So hihingi kami ng tulong sa Presidente para magkaroon ng ganyang budget dito sa DOTr,” Bautista said.

[If we need to continue this until December 31, we will ask for an additional budget from the DBM. So we will ask for help from the President to secure that additional budget for the DOTr.]

Under the program, the government hires buses to provide free rides to commuters. The gross contract per kilometer for public utility buses, tourist buses, and mini buses was increased to P84.00 from P82.50 previously, and to P54.00 from P52.50 for consolidated modern and traditional jeepneys and UV Express units as of April 2022.

Bautista, former president and chief operating officer of flag carrier Philippine Airlines, last week conducted a surprise inspection of various modes of transport such as the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3).

The secretary said he has observed a few issues which can easily be addressed such as the improvement of facilities, including installing bidets in comfort rooms and making the customer assistance group more accessible to all commuters.

He has also pushed for all MRT3 stations to have medical equipment in case of emergencies, as only five of the 16 stations have the necessary gear.

“Ang ginagawa, magpadala ng tao na sasakay sa train para mag-attend sa medical requirements. Hindi naman masyadong mahal. Baka we can provide all these medical equipment sa lahat ng station,” he said.

[What is being done is that personnel are sent via train to attend to medical requirements. It is not too expensive, so maybe we can provide all these medical equipment to all the stations.]

Moving forward, Bautista said he will conduct surprise inspections with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) chairperson in other forms of transport such as buses and jeepneys. —KG, GMA News