Going to nearby provinces from Metro Manila is now more convenient after the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) expanded its Libreng Sakay (free ride) program to include routes headed to the two major land terminals in the region.

In a Viber message to reporters on Thursday, LTFRB Executive Director Kristina “Tina” Cassion said each route headed to the North Luzon Express Terminal (NLET) and the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) will have 32 public utility vehicles (PUV) offering free rides under the program.

“Daily ‘yan. The ‘libreng sakay (That’s daily. The free ride)’ is under the Service Contracting Program (SCP). If funding permits, we can have it until June 2022,” Cassion said.

Specifically, these routes are the NLET to Araneta Center Cubao (Route 38) and the NLET to PITX (Route 39) and will be available from 1 a.m. to midnight.

To date, the LTFRB also operates free ride routes at the Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue (Edsa) Busway Carousel from 4 a.m. to 11 p.m.

“Patuloy ding nagseserbisyo ang mga operator at driver sa mga ruta na kalahok sa programa sa iba’t ibang rehiyon sa bansa (Operators and drivers continue to serve at routes included in the program across different regions in the country),” the LTFRB said in a Facebook post.

It noted that more routes are expected to be added to the free ride program in the next few days.

With a budget of PHP7 billion, the latest iteration of the SCP is meant to provide additional income to operators and drivers of PUVs and help ease the effects of the rising prices of fuel and other commodities. (PNA)