A total of 293,290 passengers were served by the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) on Wednesday, a new single-day record since the rail service resumed operation amid the Covid-19 pandemic on June 1, 2020.

In a Facebook post, the MRT-3 attributed the increase in ridership to the current “Libreng Sakay” (free ride) program and the increased number of running trains after completing its rehabilitation under the Duterte administration.

Before the pandemic, the MRT-3 ridership ranged from 250,000 to 300,000 passengers per day.

It said that to date, around 18 three-car trains sets and two four-car train sets are running at the MRT-3 during rush hour, with the number of running trains at the MRT-3 ranging from 18 to 21 train sets at any given time.

“Ang four-car CKD train set and Dalian train set ay tumatakbo tuwing morning peak hours mula 7 a.m. hanggang 9 a.m. at afternoon peak hours mula 5 p.m. hanggang 7 p.m. (The four-car CKD train set and the Dalian train set are running during morning peak hours from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and afternoon peak hours from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.),” the MRT-3 said.

In addition, MRT-3 trains are also running at increased speeds of 60 kilometers per hour since December 2020, reducing the average wait time between trains to 3.5 to 4 minutes from the previous 8.5 to 9 minutes.

With the National Capital Region and most of the country under Alert Level 1, the MRT-3 reminded passengers that some minimum public health and safety protocols remain such as no eating, no talking, and mandatory use of face masks inside its trains.

In celebration of the completion of the MRT-3’s rehabilitation and to ease the burden on commuters amidst rising fuel prices, the rail service will be free of charge to all passengers at all operating hours from March 28 until April 30. (PNA)