The Libreng Sakay (free bus ride) program that started in late 2020 is an initiative that shows government is listening to the people.
Recently, when news reports announced that the program would not be extended after it ended on Dec. 31, 2022, people – especially those who needed the free rides to help them deal with the increasing prices of food and services – did not lose hope that government will continue the service.
Records from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) showed that as of Dec. 27, 2022, a total of 164,966,373 passengers have availed of the Libreng Sakay program along EDSA in 2022.
The major transport mode in the free bus ride program is the EDSA Bus Carousel which started operations in July 2020 and ran from PITX in Pasay City to Monumento, Caloocan. The free rides program on the Bus Carousel started under former president Rodrigo Duterte at the height of the pandemic. The Libreng Sakay program was continued by President Marcos soon after he was sworn into office.
The Libreng Sakay is a joint program of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the LTFRB to help commuters cope with the rising prices of commodities and services. It was launched in late 2020 under Republic Act 11494 or the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act.
The program also has a tie-up with the Office of the Vice President’s “Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service (PHABS)-Libreng Sakay” which was launched by Vice President and Education Secretary Sara Duterte on Aug. 3, 2022 in key areas in Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao. The buses deployed for that program were loaned to Vice President Duterte who said she thought the buses would be more useful providing free transportation to commuters.
The Libreng Sakay program also offered free MRT, LRT 1 and 2 rides to students during specific periods starting in August 2021 and extended many times until May 2022. It was again extended on July 1, 2022 by President Marcos in preparation for the start of the face-to-face classes.
In the past administration, a Free Shuttle Service for Health Workers was a program of then vice president Leni Robredo when the hard lockdowns prohibited the operation of public utility vehicles. The buses followed a route that passed hospitals to bring medical frontliners to their workplace.
The people did not hope in vain. On Jan. 12, Budget Secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman assured the public that the “Libreng Sakay” will be continued as funding for the service contracting program which provides free bus rides along EDSA has a fresh P1.285 billion budget under the 2023 General Appropriations Act (GAA).
Days before that announcement, LTFRB Chairman Teofilo Guadiz III said the free ride program will immediately resume once the Department of Budget and Management (DBM) releases the fund and as soon as proper documentation process, including contract signing with bus consortium, is done.
“What is important now is for us to start this Libreng Sakay this February,” Guadiz said.
Having free rides to work or to school is a big help to ease the burden of commuters who are facing the burden of high prices, and especially to those who have lost jobs or livelihood during the pandemic.
Government has responded to this problem quite well, starting from offering the free rides during the pandemic to help health workers get to work, and later to get essential workers to their job sites, and now to help the general public save money from commuting for other living expenses.