Free transportation for health workers and other front line personnel is now available nationwide.
In a Facebook post on Sunday, the DOTr said free rides for medical front-liners are available in Regions 2, 3, 4-A, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12.
“Sa pakikipag-ugnayan at kooperasyon ng Land Transportation Office (LTO) at Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), ang libreng sakay para sa mga medical front-liners ay naipapatupad na hindi lamang sa National Capital Region (NCR) (Through the partnership of the LTO and the LTFRB, free rides for health workers are now available outside NCR),” the DOTr said.
As of Saturday, a total of 50,795 health workers have been given free rides, with 25,574 in NCR and 25,221 in other parts of the country.
The program, which began on March 18 and initially offered three routes, now provides 19 routes in Metro Manila and its neighboring provinces.
The routes are available on Google Maps at https://bit.ly/DOTrFrontlineShuttleMap.
To assist health workers in deciding which routes to take or on any other concerns, the DOTr established Malasakit Help Desks in several transport hubs as well as major hospitals in Metro Manila.
For the bus companies who participate in the program by providing their buses for free, the DOTr also provides a fuel subsidy in partnership with Phoenix Petroleum.
It said that of 60 private bus companies that participate in the program, a total of 50 liters of fuel are given daily.
Since last week, expressways in Luzon also offer toll-free access to all medical front-liners, made possible through a partnership between its operators and the Toll Regulatory Board.
Both San Miguel Corporation and Metro Pacific Tollways Corporation — the parent companies of the 10 expressways in Luzon — offer the service by providing free radio frequency identification (RFID) stickers to medical workers in select booths along the expressways, or by converting existing RFID tags to the allow free access. (PNA)