03-07-2025
Raffy Tulfo urges dedicated booths for students at LRT, MRT stations
Senator Raffy Tulfo has called on the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to put up dedicated booths or lanes for students who will avail of their 50% fare discount at Light Rail Transit (LRT) and Metro Rail Transit (MRT) stations.
Tulfo, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said that based on the onsite inspections of his team at certain train stations, some students choose not to get the discount due to the "time-consuming and inconvenient process."
The DOTr has increased the fare discount for all students, including those taking up postgraduate studies, from 20% to 50% for LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3, beginning June 20.
To get the discounted rates, students are required to present their valid ID within the current school year. Their tickets must be purchased at the ticket counter to avail of the discounted rates.
These are valid for single journey tickets only and not applicable for beep cards and stored value tickets.
Upon hearing the students' concerns, Tulfo said separate ticket booths or lanes should be set up exclusively for students, apart from those for senior citizens, persons with disabilities (PWDs), and regular passengers.
He also called on the DOTr to develop a more efficient student verification process that would no longer require manual form-filling, and to make the student discount applicable to beep cards.
"The goal of the student fare discount is to make transportation more accessible to learners—not to create new obstacles for them or for other commuters," Tulfo said in a statement.
Sought for comment on the matter, Transport Secretary Vince Dizon said he has already instructed the management teams of LRT-1, LRT-2, and MRT-3 to put up dedicated student lanes, as advised by the senator.
As of Thursday, July 3, Dizon confirmed with GMA News Online that all stations at MRT-3 have already allocated a counter exclusively for students.
"All [MRT-3] stations with dedicated student lane. LRT 1 [and] 2 will do the same," he said. — VDV, GMA Integrated News
