THE DEPARTMENT of Transportation expects heavy traffic once face-to-face classes nationwide resume on August 22.

“We are really expecting a heavy flow of traffic at the start of face-to-face classes,” Transportation Secretary Jaime Bautista said.

The department said the number of passengers would increase by 15 percent as students would be utilizing transportation on the way to schools.

“There will be a 15 percent passenger increase because of face-to-face classes. Our capacity is enough. We have the rail sector, we have the ferry system, we have the MMDA and we have the local government units,” DOTr Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor said.

Aside from the quality of transportation service, DOTr also assures students will be safe as they go to school.

Over 27 million students and over 800,000 teachers are scheduled to return to school by August 22, according to the Department of Education.