PASIG City’s five newly acquired electric minibuses will begin serving commuters on Monday, April 6, under the city government’s Libreng Sakay (free ride) program.
Mayor Vico Sotto earlier said the new electric minibuses arrived as oil prices continued to rise, with each unit procured for P3,989,600.
Sotto said the vehicles would be used by Pasig Transport for Libreng Sakay and would be pilot-tested on underserved and potential PUV routes to improve public transportation efficiency in the city.
“We will pilot test underserved and potential PUV routes to improve the efficiency of public transport in the city,” Sotto said.
He said the goal was to determine whether the routes are feasible and whether there is enough passenger demand.
The city government said four routes will initially be operational from Monday to Friday except holidays, with SPED on Caruncho Avenue serving as the common jump-off point.
These routes will connect SPED to the Temporary Pasig City Hall, Ligaya in Santolan, One San Miguel Avenue in San Antonio, and Nagpayong in Pinagbuhatan.
Route 1 will operate as a point-to-point service between SPED and the Temporary Pasig City Hall.
Routes 2, 3 and 4 will have designated pick-up and drop-off points along their routes, and details will be released in a separate post.
Pasig said the vehicles assigned to Routes 2, 3 and 4 would run only during rush hours, from 5:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
The city said the limited operating schedule aims to avoid affecting PUVs that continue to operate, despite the continued rise in oil prices, while still helping commuters who may struggle to find rides.
