FREE RIDE. Mobility assets of the Manila City government are on standby in front of the City Hall on Monday (April 15, 2024). The city government has put on standby 80 vehicles to provide free rides to commuters who might be affected by the two-day nationwide transport strike. (Photo courtesy of Manila DRRMO)
MANILA – The city government of Manila has deployed vehicles for commuters who might be affected by the two-day transport strike that started on Monday.
Mayor Honey Lacuna has activated the city’s Operation Libreng Sakay, with 80 vehicles on standby in affected places.
“Manila Police District (MPD), Manila Traffic and Parking Bureau (MTPB), and Manila Disaster Risk Reduction & Management Office (MDRRMO) are currently monitoring for affected routes and are ready to provide transportation to stranded passengers. There are about 80 vehicles on standby from MTPB, MPD, and MDRRMO that will be placed on affected routes, if any, to address the need,” Lacuna's spokesperson Princess Abante said in a statement.
Abante noted that emergency vehicles would not be deployed if there were sufficient public transportation plying the routes so as not to interfere with those who choose not to join the strike.
“The Mayor will be monitoring the situation throughout the day. The OPLAN LIBRENG SAKAY command center is at the Kartilya ng Katipunan,” she said.
The Quezon City government has also laid out plans to assist commuters.
"Tuloy ang mga biyahe ng ating QCity Bus, at handa itong i-dispatch kung may maiulat na stranded commuters. Naka-standby rin ang mga service vehicles ng Pamahalaang Lungsod, QCPD (Quezon City Police District), MMDA (Metropolitan Manila Development Authority), LTFRB (Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board), AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines), pati na rin ng 142 Barangays ng Quezon City, kung sakaling kailanganing mag-dispatch ng mga sasakyan para sa mga stranded commuters (Our QCity Bus units' trips go as scheduled and would be dispatched if there are stranded commuters. There are also service vehicles of the city government, the QCPD, MMDA, LTFRB, AFP as well as the city's 142 barangays, should there be a need to dispatch these for stranded commuters)," it said in a separate advisory.
The city's Traffic and Transport Management Department would also deploy traffic enforcers on the city's major roads to monitor the situation amid the transport strike.
Stranded commuters may contact the QC Helpline 122 for assistance.
Reports said some 100,000 members of the transport groups Pagkakaisa ng mga Samahan ng Tsuper at Opereytor Nationwide (Piston) and Samahang Manibela Mananakay at Nagkaisang Terminal ng Transportasyon (Manibelar) were holding a nationwide transport strike from Monday to Tuesday, 25,000 of whom are in Metro Manila.
Last week, President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. said the April 30 deadline for the franchise consolidation of public utility vehicles (PUV) under the government's transport modernization program would no longer be extended. (PNA)
