‘Libre Sakay’ program in Region 6 benefits almost 3M commuters

Close to three million commuters in Western Visayas benefited from the “Libre Sakay” under Phase 3 of the Service Contracting Program of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Region 6.

From April 18 to May 27, 2022, a total of 2,830,772 commuters availed of the “Libre Sakay” or the gross service contract program in the region.

The “Libre Sakay” or gross service contract program is among the two types of contracts offered under the Service Contracting Program of LTFRB.

The service contract offers free rides to the riding public. Under this scheme, public utility vehicles (PUVs) will receive additional revenue based on their daily number of trips providing free rides to customers.

On the other hand, the other service contract is the net service contract where participating public utility buses (PUBs) and minibuses receive P46.50 per kilometer of service and smaller PUVs with P28 per kilometer of service.

In Western Visayas, 1,336,204 passengers benefited from the net service contract.

Aside from weekly payments based on the number of kilometers traveled per week, operators and drivers who will participate in the government’s free ridership program shall also receive a one-time pay out under the service contracting program.

The service contracting program which aims to help operators and drivers who were greatly affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and the impending oil crisis has been allocated with a budget of P7 billion under the 2022 General Appropriations Act.

In the region, the service contracting program covered the following routes in the region: San Miguel – Iloilo City (Jaro Big Market); Iloilo City (ITGSI) – Ungka via CPU; Iloilo City – Calaparan- Villa Beach; Bacolod City – Victorias City; Bacolod City – Kabankalan City; and Bacolod City – Escalante City. (DG)