Free rides on EDSA bus carousel start today

MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will roll out today the third phase of the government’s service contracting program for public utility vehicle (PUV) drivers, which includes free rides for commuters nationwide.

According to the LTFRB, the EDSA bus carousel will be the first to provide free rides. At least 510 public utility buses will participate in the program.

The LTFRB said more PUV operators would offer free rides and additional routes are expected to open in the coming days.

Under the program, which is another component of the Duterte administration’s response to soaring oil prices aside from the fuel subsidy, PUV operators and drivers will provide free rides to commuters and will be compensated by the government on a weekly basis. 

The LTFRB will also be covering fuel expenses, disinfection, monthly amortizations and other overhead costs.

The transport regulator will be implementing the program with two types: the gross contract and the net contract.

Under the gross contract, participating PUV drivers and operators will be compensated based on the number of trips traveled per week regardless of whether they had passengers or not.

Under the net contract, PUV drivers will be paid based on the number of trips traveled per week aside from the income they will earn from fares.

For the gross contract, the P82.50 fee per kilometer on consolidated public utility buses (PUBs), tourist bus and mini bus was raised to P84. The P52.50 fee per kilometer on modern and traditional jeepneys was increased to P54, according to the LTFRB.

For the net contract, the P45.50 fee per kilometer for consolidated PUBs and mini buses was increased to P46.50.

The P27.00 fee per kilometer for modern and traditional jeepneys, UVEs and Filcab was raised to P28.

The third phase of the service contracting program of the Department of Transportation and LTFRB has a funding of P7 billion under the General Appropriations Act of 2022.