The Metro Rail Transit Line 3 (MRT-3) is ready to serve up to 400,000 passengers per day, more than double its current average ridership.

In a Zoom briefing on Friday, MRT-3 Officer-in-Charge, General Manager Michael Capati, said the MRT-3 currently accommodates 248,000 to 260,000 passengers a day, with an average fare collection of PHP2.7 million.

With the MRT-3 set to offer free rides to all passengers from March 28 to April 30, he said the average number of passengers per day may increase to 300,000 to 400,000 per day, depending on the Covid-19 pandemic situation.

“Ready naman po ang ating pasilidad, ang ating capacity, kaya po nagte-test na po tayo ng four-car trains. Dahil ang four-car trains po natin can accommodate a maximum of 1,576 passengers (Our facilities, capacity, are ready, and that’s why we’re testing four-car trains because these can accommodate a maximum of 1,576 passengers),” Capati said.

The current three-car train setup of the MRT-3 can accommodate around 1,100 passengers per train.

To ensure that the MRT-3 can accommodate as many passengers as possible during the first day of the free ride program, he said two four-car trains will be dispatched from MRT-3’s during the peak hours of 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.

There will also be 18 three-car trains that will traverse the route between North Avenue, Quezon City and Taft Avenue in Pasay City.

Capati said the four-car train setup is the future of MRT-3, with plans to combine the old Czech CKD train cars with the newer Chinese Dalian train cars for four-car operations.

“From three-car train sets, magiging (it will be) four-car train sets. So, slowly, ina-achieve natin ‘yan (From three-car train sets to four-car train sets. Slowly, we will achieve that),” Capati said.

To date, he said 48 out of 72 CKD train cars have been overhauled, with the rest expected to be completed within the year, while nine Dalian trains are “provisionally accepted”.

The remaining 39 are to undergo further testing.

‘Free ride’ program

With the MRT-3 expected to lose an average of PHP2.7 million in revenue per day of operation during the month-long free ride program, Capati said its operational expenses will be covered through its PHP7 billion budget under the General Appropriations Act of 2022.

“Ang mga rider ng MRT-3 ay currently subsidized na po at dahil meron tayong tinatawag na libreng sakay, fully subsidized na po ang buong gastos ng isang pasahero sa kanyang biyahe sa (MRT-3 riders are currently already subsidized, and because we have the free ride program, the passenger fares will be fully subsidized for all passengers of the) MRT-3,” Capati said.

To avail of free rides, passengers must have a stored-value Beep card or a single-trip card.

The MRT-3 will be available for free rides at all hours, except on April 12 to 17 when it goes on its annual Holy Week maintenance shutdown. (PNA)