AKBAYAN Partylist today reiterated its call on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to extend the LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3 schedules year-round, following their announcement of additional hours for train operations from December 16 to 23.
Akbayan Representative Perci Cendaña appealed to DOTr Sec. Jaime Bautista to give due consideration to the proposal.
“Kung in-extend na natin for a week, bakit hindi natin ito gawin buong taon? Kung kaya nating i-maintain ang trains even with extended hours, then we can replicate this practice all year,” Akbayan Partylist Representative Perci Cendaña said.
Akbayan emphasized that the DOTr should hold a comprehensive dialogue with the riding public to explore possible options for improving their commuting experience. Among such proposals are having an MWF schedule of midnight train operations or lessening the frequency of trains past a certain time.
“We can achieve the best results kung makikinig tayo sa proposals from the affected sectors such as BPO and night shift workers, businesses that will benefit from extending the service, and outside technical experts. We have to listen to the commuters. It’s a disservice to them kung hindi man lang natin sila pakikinggan,” he said.
Akbayan Partylist also earlier suggested looking at the “best practices” of our neighboring countries, given that their train operations are until midnight.
“Tingnan natin ang ginagawa ng Bangkok, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta at Singapore. Again, we have to look at the best practices being done by other countries. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel,” Akbayan Rep. Cendaña said.
“Uulitin ko. Kung gusto may paraan, kung ayaw may dahilan,” Akbayan Rep. Perci Cendaña added.
This was after DOTr’s outright opposition to the calls to extend train operating hours amidst Metro Manila’s worsening transportation conditions. The partylist has since launched a signature campaign to accumulate favorable feedback from commuters regarding their proposal.
