Light Rail Manila Corp. said it will increase the number of trips at Light Rail Transit Line 1 to reduce headways and shorten waiting time for commuters.
LRMC president and chief executive Rogelio Singson said the new timetable would increase the number of trips on weekdays by 8 percent from the current 512 to 554 trips daily.
“For LRT-1 passengers, more trips mean shorter waiting time and lesser crowding on the platforms,” he said. Current schedule for holidays and weekends will remain the same, he said.
For the new timetable, LRMC will also increase the speed limit of 40 kilometers per hour to allow 60 kph, along the LRT-1 north extension, or the four-kilometer line from Monumento to Roosevelt stations only. Extended hours in the morning and evening, which had been on dry run, will also be made official in the new timetable. From 5 a.m., first trip from both Baclaran and Roosevelt Stations will be 4:30 a.m. The last trip will leave Baclaran at 10 p.m. and Roosevelt at 10:15 p.m. “The extended hours is one innovation that has generated positive feedback from passengers,” Singson said.
Singson said LRMC achieved an average daily ridership of 443,000 in the first quarter of 2017, or a six percent year-on-year increase.