MANILA, Philippines — The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board said it will investigate accounts of bus drivers still charging fares on the EDSA Busway despite the 24/7 Libreng Sakay program being extended for the entirety of December.
For the rest of the year, the EDSA Busway Carousel is set to run for 24 hours with free rides under the service contracting program of the Department of Transportation.
Related Stories
In a statement sent to reporters, the board also urged the public to report any suspicious activity to LTFRB traffic inspectors or to Inter-Agency Council on Traffic enforcers who are stationed at every EDSA Busway station.
"Regarding the alleged lack of [Public Uitlity Buses] on the EDSA Busway, where passengers are complaining about long waits, the LTFRB continues to monitor ... stations to identify areas with high passenger demand and address it," the LTFRB also said.
The Department of Transportation said earlier that exactly 100 buses are deployed to ply the EDSA Carousel route from the Paranaque Integrated Terminal Exchange to Monumento in Quezon City from 11:01 p.m. to 3:59 a.m., while 650 buses are expected to be active from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The board has said it is also looking at deploying more buses amid reports of longer waiting times for passengers, saying the delay in trips may be because of the increase in ridership at night spurred by the Christmas-induced shopping frenzy.