Department of Transportation (DOTr) Sec. Arthur P. Tugade has ordered the nationwide implementation of the agency’s free ride service program in order to accommodate more essential passengers amid the pandemic.
Tugade directed the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) to expand the Free Ride Service Program to other provinces and to include authorized persons outside residence (APORs) aside from health workers as beneficiaries.
This was made to cushion the adverse impact of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and modified ECQ (MECQ) on the livelihood of Filipinos, especially with the significant decrease in public utility vehicle (PUV) operations.
“This is like a socialized transport system. Gobyerno ang nagbabayad, sakay lang nang sakay ang tao. Sa ating magigiting na essential workers, libre ito dahil napapailalim po ito sa Service Contracting Program (The government will pay, passengers need not do anything but ride. For our brave essential workers, this is free because this is under the Service Contracting Program),” Tugade explained.
Apart from aiding essential workers, the program will also help PUV drivers earn extra income, an incentive inherent in the Service Contracting Program, Tugade noted.
Through service contracting, the LTFRB provides payouts to participating operators and drivers of buses and jeepneys. They also given a performance-based subsidy, based on the kilometers traveled by their vehicle.
The DOTr chief said the free ride service for health workers and other APORs shall be implemented “until such time that the Bayanihan to Recover As Once funds for the Service Contracting Program are fully utilized and disbursed.”
Under the law, critically-impacted transport sectors are given an allocation of P9.5 billion, the bulk of which will be used for service contracting efforts to assist PUV drivers and operators, whose livelihood was affected by the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
Of the amount, more than P5.5 billion was allocated for the temporary livelihood of displaced workers in the transport industry through the Service Contracting Program.
Since it was launched in March last year, the free ride program has recorded more than 2.2 million in total ridership nationwide, the DOTr said.