The MRT-3's tally of riders has exceeded pre-pandemic figures, an official of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) said on Thursday.

The railway ferried around 200,000 to 250,000 passengers daily before the COVID-19 pandemic struck, when trains often bogged down, said DOTr Undersecretary Timothy John Batan.

“Ngayon, naisaayos na natin 'yan, ay umaabot na tayo sa 370,000 na ridership per day, at inaasahan natin na kaya pang tumaas 'yang ridership na 'yan,” he told ABS-CBN's TeleRadyo.

(Now that we have fixed that, we have reached 370,000 ridership per day, and we expect that to increase.)

The MRT, which runs the length of EDSA from Quezon City to Pasay City, was one of the first modes of public transport that re-opened when Metro Manila eased its COVID-19 lockdown in 2020.

The railway's rehabilitation was completed last March.

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Government offered free MRT rides that month partly to see if trains could handle a large passenger volume, said Batan.

"Ngayong natapos na ang ating rehabilitasyon... hindi na natin nakikita 'yang mga unloading incidents," he added.

(Ever since the rehabilitation was completed, we no longer see unloading incidents.)

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Any extension of the Libreng Sakay Program beyond June 30 will depend on the incoming administration of President-elect Ferdinand Marcos Jr., Batan said.

“Ipapaubaya na natin bilang kurtesiya sa ating paparating na bagong administrasyon ang desisyon,” he said.

(We will leave the decision to the next administration as a courtesy.)

— TeleRadyo, 16 June 2022