The Metro Rail Transit Line-3 (MRT-3) served on Friday a total of 353,553 passengers - the highest ridership it recorded since June 2020.
In a statement, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said this is even higher than the average 250,000 to 300,000 passengers riding the MRT-3 before the COVID-19 outbreak in the Philippines in March 2020.
The DOTr MRT-3 attributed this to the free rides offered by the train-line as well as the bigger number of trainsets that are operating.
"Ito ay resulta ng pagpapatupad ng LIBRENG SAKAY sa MRT-3 at pagpapatakbo ng mas maraming train sets, na binubuo ng nasa 14 hanggang 16 3-car CKD train sets, at apat na 4-car CKD train sets sa mainline tuwing operational hours," the DOTr MRT-3 said on a Facebook post.
(This is the result of the implementation of free rides at the MRT-3 and running more train sets, which are composed of 14 to 16 3-car CKD train sets and four 4-car CKD train sets at the mainline during the operational hours.)
Each train car is capable of carrying 394 passengers, it said, with a three-car CKD capable of serving 1,182 passengers and the four-car ones handling up to 1,576 commuters.
The trains operating at the MRT-3 have started running at the speed of 60 kilometers per hour since December 2020, with the average headway reduced to three to four minutes between trains.
The high ridership came after the announcement that the MRT-3's free rides initiative would be expanded until June 2022.
Amid the high number of commuters using the trains, the MRT-3 management urged passengers to continue adhering to the minimum public health and safety protocols.
