Tabuk City, Kalinga – Medical workers and other authorized persons outside of residence (APORs) in Kalinga can have free rides in modern vehicles, particularly those travelling from Dagupan to Bulanao and vice versa.
The said route was included in the list with 18 others in the region opened for the Libreng Sakay program of the Land Transportation and Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Free rides on said route started on June 4, 2022. According to the LTFRB, the free ride brought by the service contracting program does not only benefit commuters but also drivers and operators.
Its main target is to assist drivers and operators greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the continuous oil price hike in the country.
Operators and drivers participating in the program get a one-time pay-out or weekly payments in the government’s free ride program.
The payments are based on the number of kilometers they travelled per week. The drivers shall be paid even they do not have passengers.
LTFRB said the service contracting program of the government was allocated P7 billion budget covering around 1,000 routes nationwide with an estimated participation rate of 13,000 to 15,000 public utility vehicles.
In the Cordillera, the agency said that number of routes that will be covered under the program is expected to increase in the following days.
LTFRB-CAR earlier claimed that a total of 1, 016, 748 commuters in the region benefited from the program from April 16 until May 17 this year.
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