A TOTAL of 221 public utility vehicles (PUVs) are currently servicing healthcare workers and Authorized Persons Outside of Residence (Apor) in Cebu for free under the government’s continued free ride service program which is now on its first week already.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said 100 tourist vans were deployed to exclusively cater to healthcare workers in Cebu while 121 other units composed of public utility buses and modern public utility jeepneys (MPUJs) were tasked to provide free transportation for Apor.
Eleven routes were laid for the free ride allocated for healthcare workers in Cebu while 12 routes were dedicated for the free ride service program for Apor.
Among the routes for healthcare workers are Cebu City to Carcar City, Carcar City to Mandaue City, and Cebu City to Carmen, while the routes for Apor include Talisay City to Mandaue City via South Road Properties, among others.
Aside from in Cebu, 10 PUV units were also deployed for Apor in Negros Oriental, 10 others for Apor in Bohol Province and 11 for healthcare workers in the same province.
Montealto said participating PUBs will be paid P82.50 per kilometer covered while the rest of the commissioned units, the MPUJs, tourist buses and tourist vans, will be paid P52.50 per kilometer covered.
“The preparation of payout is weekly, but the payment may be done every 15 days,” Montealto said, in Cebuano.
The P358 million budget for the continuation of the free ride service in the region is sourced from the 2021 General Appropriations Act of LTFRB 7’s mother agency, the Department of Transportation, Montealto added.
The free rides officially started on Sept. 16 and will last until Dec. 31 this year. (WBS)