DOTr: No MRT-3 fare increase

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) assured the public that it has no plans to impose a fare increase in the Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) anytime soon, even though it will rehabilitate the entire system.

“That is not even in the horizon for us at this point,” DOTr Undersecretary for Railways Timothy John Batan confirmed.

Already, DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade has issued instructions to shelve any discussion on a fare hike and to let the commuting public experience first the significant improvements made, once completed, on the 18-year-old rail system

“Secretary Tugade ordered there will be no fare increases until passengers have not experienced improvements in the MRT-3 services,” Batan reiterated.

The MRT-3 last increased its fares in January, 2015 to an P11 base fare plus additional P1 per kilometer.

The 16.9-kilometer rail line that stretches from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City is currently accommodating an average of 350,000 commuters daily.

On Thursday this week, the governments of the Philippines and Japan, through the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), signed the R18-billion loan agreement for the MRT-3 Rehabilitation Project.

The project, which will run until 2022, covers the rehabilitation and maintenance of all sub-components of MRT-3, including its electromechanical systems, power supply, rail tracks, depot equipment, and a general overhaul of all its 72 18-yearold Light Rail Vehicles (LRVs).