Free train rides offered on Rizal Day
Free rides will be offered to all passengers at the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT 3) and Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT 2) on Rizal Day, Dec. 30, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) announced on Saturday.
According to the DOTr, the free rides at the MRT 3 and LRT 2 will run for two hours in two instances—from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.
The DOTr added that the no-fare ride for a total of 4 hours for all commuters is in solidarity with the 129th death anniversary of Philippine hero Dr. Jose Rizal.
Dec. 30 is an annual regular holiday in the Philippines to mark the execution of Rizal at Bagumbayan, now called Luneta or Rizal Park.
The hero wrote the historic novels “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo,” which helped inspire the Philippine Revolution against the Spaniards.
At the same time, MRT 3 general manager Mike Capati said on Saturday that there would be no fare hike for MRT 3 in 2026.
“There has currently been no discussion about that,” Capati said in an interview over Super Radyo dzBB. “We have no fare hike planned. We will fix the facility first.”
He said the rehabilitation, especially the escalators, would start next year, particularly the ones in Taft and Ayala Avenues.
He said MRT 3 would deploy more light rail cars with the aim of replacing all 48 trains by the end of 2026 and boost the line’s capacity from 500,000 passengers per day to between 600,000 and 700,000 passengers per day.
Toll increases
Meanwhile, the Toll Regulatory Board announced toll increases on the South Luzon Expressway (SLEx) and the Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR) Tollway beginning Jan. 1.
The approved toll hikes on SLEx are as follows:
From Alabang to Calamba, vehicles classified as Class 1 would be increased to P126, Class 2 to P253, Class 3 to P379.
From Calamba to Sto. Tomas, it would be increased to P34 on Class 1, P68 on Class 2 and P102 on Class 3.
These represent a toll hike of P10, P21 and P31 for Class 1, 2 and 3 vehicles, respectively, on the Alabang to Calamba section.
Meanwhile, for the Calamba to Sto. Tomas section, the toll hikes are P3, P5 and P8 for Class 1, 2 and 3 vehicles, respectively.
From Sto. Tomas to Lipa (Section 1), the toll would be increased to P60 in Class 1, P119 in Class and P179 in Class 3. On the Lipa to Batangas (Section 2) line, Class 1 would cost P53, Class 2 P106 and Class 3 P159.
For Section 1, the toll would increase by P5, P9 and P14 for Class 1, 2 and 3 vehicles, respectively. For Section 2, the hike in toll would be P4, P8 and P12 for Class 1, 2 and 3 vehicles, respectively.
