The Pampanga police and the local government unit of San Fernando on Monday provided free rides to stranded passengers as members of the Alliance of Concerned Transport Organizations and National Federation of Transport Cooperatives held a transport "holiday" in protest of rising oil prices, the lifting of the suspended fare increase, and delays in the release of the government's fuel subsidies.
The transport groups said around 20,000 operators and drivers of modern and traditional jeepneys stopped plying their routes during the mass-rally-free, and peaceful transport holiday.
They clarified that the activity, was not meant to "punish" the public, coming right after the two-day strike held by Piston, Manibela and Laban TNVS.
To cushion the effects of the transport holiday, the Pampanga Police Provincial Office deployed vehicles in strategic areas covered by police stations across the province to give the public free rides.
"As part of continuous service to the public, the Pampanga Police Provincial Office conducted free rides in every municipality in the province of Pampanga. Layunin ng nasabing inisyatiba na matulungan ang mga mamamayan, lalo na ang mga apektado ng pagtaas ng presyo ng langis sa kanilang pang-araw-araw na biyahe," said Colonel Eugene Marcelo, director of the Pampanga Police.
In San Fernando, City Public Order and Safety Coordinating Office head Louie Clemente told SunStar Pampanga that the free rides offered by the city government will last until Monday night
"Yes, sir. We'll give commuters free rides until the evening. We started at around 6 am. At 4:30 pm today we will pre-position our vehicles," he said.
The local government has deployed vehicles to serve routes in three boundaries: Magliman (Bacolor boundary) to SM City Pampanga (Mexico boundary); SM City Telabastagan (Angeles boundary) to San Nicolas (Sto. Tomas Boundary); and City Hall to Dolores Intersection, and vice versa, to ensure continuous mobility for residents and the commuting public.
"We have also mobilized and deployed extra vehicles to address the actual volume of commuters on the ground," Clemente added.
Meanwhile in Angeles City, transport group Pasada said they did not participate in the transport holiday.
According to the Angeles City Information Office, Pasada president Augusto Bagtas said their group will continue to serve the following routes: Angeles-Dau Checkpoint; Angeles - Mabalacat; Angeles-Honorable; and - Angeles - Porac.
"Because of this, the previously organized free ride of the city government will no longer proceed. Despite this, the local government of Angeles through PTRO and ACTDO will continue to monitor the situation of passengers and traffic," the City Information Office said.