ILOILO City – The national government’s “Libre Sakay” or free-ride offer on modernized public utility vehicles (PUVs) ends today, June 30.
It won’t be extended, Director Richard Osmeña of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) in Region 6 confirmed to Panay News.
“Libre Sakay” is a Service Contracting Program (SCP) under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act (Bayanihan 2) to help the transport sector hit by the coronavirus disease pandemic.
Since April 19 this year, around 200 modernized jeepneys in this city and Iloilo province have been offering free rides under the SCP being implemented by the LTFRB and the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
The program is open to drivers of modernized jeeps, traditional public utility jeepneys (PUJs) and passenger buses that are plying active routes.
In Memorandum Circular No. 2021-029, drivers and/or operators of modern PUJs plying Iloilo City routes receive from the national government a subsidy of P52.50 per kilometer while those of provincial modernized jeepneys, P82.50.
To determine their travel length, Global Positioning System (GPS)-capable mobile phones are attached to their vehicles.
In a radio interview, Rizalito Alido, board secretary of the Iloilo City Alliance of Operators and Drivers Transport Cooperative (ICAODTC), said they would follow LTFRB’s directive.
Commuters would now pay regular fares, Alido said over DYFM Bombo Radyo Iloilo.
To note, among the routes of modernized jeepneys for the free rides are Iloilo City, San Joaquin, San Miguel, and Cabatuan./PN
