President Marcos’ first year in transportation policies was marked by a string of privatizations, fare hikes, and modernizations that excluded the poorest sectors of society.
Despite the significant relief brought by the Libreng Sakay program for the EDSA Carousel bus route, President Marcos discontinued the service after six months in office, imposing a new fare matrix and opening the possibility of privatizing the bus system [1].
Talks to privatize operations were also renewed for the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) after Marcos used two major power outages to justify the need for private intervention [2].
Fare hikes were proposed for the country’s three railway lines, with the president approving increases for two lines, the LRT-1 and LRT-2, set to be implemented in August [3].
The PUV Modernization Program took center stage in the first quarter of 2023, as jeepney drivers successfully organized a week-long transport strike in protest of the phase-out of old jeepney units. The strike ended with Marcos conceding to defer the implementation of the program until the end of the year [4].
Sources:
[1] https://www.philstar.com/…/dotr-privatize-edsa-carousel…
[2] https://www.rappler.com/…/power-outage-hits-ninoy…/
[3] https://www.cnnphilippines.com/…/lrt-2-fare-hike-august…
[4] https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/…/extended-again-ltfrb…
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