Passengers are in for a treat this December as the operating hours of the free ride program for the EDSA Bus Carousel are set to be extended to 24 hours starting December 15 until 31.
The free EDSA bus rides are currently limited from 4 AM until 11 PM.
In a statement, Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said they will exhaust the remaining funds in the PHP 1.4 billion budget allocated for the free ridership program with the extension, which is seen to benefit more passengers due to the expected influx of people in malls amid the Christmas Season.
The 'Libreng Sakay' program is set to expire by year-end and will not be extended due to the lack of budget.
"Gusto sana namin magkaroon ng ganitong service contracting (free ride service). Nung hinihingi namin 'yan sa DBM ay hindi naman ibinigay samin … siguro because of limited budget also, posible pa rin ang Congress at Senate ay mag-allocate ng certain amount. Kung bibigyan kami ng ganitong budget ipapapatuloy namin ang programa namin on a limited basis," Bautista said.
The government pays around PHP 10 to PHP 12 million daily to bus concessionaires to run buses conveying over 300,000 passengers.
“Kung bibigyan kami ng ganitong budget ay ipagpapatuloy po natin ang programa na rin, maski on a limited basis,” said Bautista.
