OVER 1.6 million students benefited from the government’s free rides program last year, the Office of the Press Secretary said.

Free rides on the Light Rail Transit-2 started in August 22 and lasted until November 5, 2022.

A 20 percent fare discount was given to 143,290 students under the Oplan Balik Eskwela program of the MRT-3 and Philippine National Railways.

The free ride on the EDSA bus carousel ended on December 31, 2022.

Operators and drivers whose livelihood were impacted by the pandemic and the rise in oil costs received compensation through the government’s Service Contracting Program.

According to the report, 16,832 PUV units were operated on 921 routes nationwide between April and July 2022 by 19,194 PUV drivers. As of December 23, 2022, 751 PUBs from 87 companies provided service on the EDSA Busway.