MANILA, Philippines (UPDATED) – Students will now get free rides at railways at set times, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced on Thursday, June 27.

Free rides at the Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 2 will be free from 4:30 to 6 am and 3 to 4:30 pm. There will be no free rides for LRT Line 1, which is operated by the Light Rail Manila Corporation.

Meanwhile, for the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT3), free rides will be enjoyed from 5 to 6:30 am and 3 to 4:30 pm.

At the Philippine National Railways, it will be from 5 to 6 am and 3 to 4 pm. On top of this, students will also get the “anti-cut-off pass,” which means that students are automatically part of the train ride and will not be offloaded once it’s full.

The free rides will be implemented at the railways starting Monday, July 1, and will be valid weekdays except holidays.

The LRT2 is a 13.8-kilometer train system from Recto Station in Manila to Santolan Station in Pasig City while the MRT3 spans 16.9 kilometers, with 13 stations from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. 

The PNR runs from Malabon to Taguig for the north commuter and from Tutuban, Manila to Calamba, Laguna for the south commuter. It also has services from Naga to Sipocot in Camarines Sur.

Terminal, seaport fees also waived

Meanwhile, all terminal fees for 40 Civil Aviation Authority of the Philippines-operated airports as well as seaports owned and operated by the Philippine Ports Authority will also be waived for students.

It will be implemented at the airports starting August and at the seaports on July 16.

The free rides can be availed by students up to college level, as well as those taking up vocational and technical courses. Post-graduate students are not eligible.

Tugade said that students will only have to show their school IDs starting July 1 in the meantime, but will be eventually asked to register for the ID to be issued by DOTr. – Rappler.com