MRT Line 3 (Metro Manila)
The Metro Rail Transit Line 3, also known as the MRT Line 3, MRT-3 or Metrostar Express, is a light rapid transit system line of Metro Manila, Philippines. Originally referred to as the Blue Line, MRT Line 3 was reclassified to be the Yellow Line in 2012. The line runs in an orbital north to south route following the alignment of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Although it has the characteristics of light rail, such as with the type of rolling stock used, it is more akin to a rapid transit system owing to  its total grade separation and high passenger throughput. Envisioned in the 1970s and 1980s as part of various feasibility studies, the thirteen-station, line was the second rapid transit line to be built in Metro Manila when it started full operations in 2000 under a 25-year concession agreement between its private owners and the Philippine government's Department of Transportation (DOTr). The line is owned by the Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC), a private company operating in partnership with the DOTr under a Build-Lease-Transfer agreement. Serving close to 550,000 passengers on a daily basis when MRTC's  maintenance provider, Sumitomo Corporation of Japan, was handling the maintenance of the system, the line is the busiest among Metro Manila's three rapid transit lines, built with essential standards such as barrier-free access and the use of contact-less card tickets to better facilitate passenger access. Total ridership significantly exceeds its built maximum capacity of 350,000 passengers a day, with various solutions being proposed or implemented to alleviate chronic congestion in addition to the procurement of new rolling stock. Since 2006, the system's private owners had been offering various capacity expansion proposals to the DOTC. In 2014 , after the DOTC's handling of the line's maintenance for two years amid questions about the line's structural integrity owing to the poor maintenance and the pronouncements that the system, in general, was safe, experts from MTR HK were commissioned to review the system. MTR HK made the opinion that the rail system was compromised due to the DOTC's poor maintenance. From 2019 to 2021, the line underwent a comprehensive rehabilitation program funded by Japan's official development assistance. This resulted in upgraded facilities, railway tracks, trains, and other systems. It is integrated with the public transit  system in Metro Manila, and passengers also take various forms of road-based public transport, such as buses, to and from a station to reach their intended destination. Although the line is aimed at reducing traffic congestion and travel time along EDSA, the transportation system has only been partially successful due to the DOTC's inaction on the private sector's proposals to expand the capacity of the system to take up to 1.1 million passengers a day. Expanding the network's capacity to accommodate the rising number of passengers is currently set on tackling this problem. Route. The lines  run along the alignment of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue from North Avenue in Quezon City to the intersection of EDSA and Taft Avenue in Pasay. The rails are mostly elevated and erected either over or along the roads covered, with cut and underground sections between and stations, the only underground stations on the line. The rail line serves the cities that Circumferential Road 4 (Epifanio de los Santos Avenue) passes through: Pasay, Makati, Mandaluyong, San Juan and Quezon City. The line crosses South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) at Magallanes Interchange in Makati. Early on during the construction of the line , a plan was drafted for a spur line towards the Makati Central Business District, built between Ayala and Buendia stations. The remaining evidence of this abandoned plan is an underground tunnel between Buendia and Ayala station turning right, heading towards Ayala Avenue. The planned spur line was cancelled due to the Asian financial crisis in 1997, which resulted the spur line area to be abandoned since the line's opening in 1999. Stations. The line has 13 stations along its , spaced on average around apart. The southern terminus of the line is at Pasay Rotonda, the intersection between Epifanio de  los Santos Avenue and Taft Avenue, while the northern terminus is the along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue in Barangay Bagong Pag-asa, Quezon City. Three stations serve as interchanges with the lines operated by the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), and Philippine National Railways (PNR). Magallanes station is near the PNR's station, while is indirectly connected to the LRT Line 2 station of the same, and is connected via a covered walkway to the LRT Line 1 station. No stations are connected to other rapid transit lines within the paid areas, though that  is set to change when the North Triangle Common Station, which has interchanges to LRT Line 1 and MRT Line 7, opens in 2022. There are plans to temporarily close station to facilitate the construction of the North Triangle Common Station. This is to minimize the operational and safety risks to the overhead catenary wires above the turn back siding north of the North Avenue station. Should this closure proposal be approved, will be the temporary terminus of the line. The closure will take place for 30 days. Operations. The line is open from 4:40 a.m. PHT (UTC+8) until 10:10  p.m. on a daily basis. It operates almost every day of the year unless otherwise announced. Special schedules are announced via the public address system in every station and also in newspapers and other mass media. During Holy Week, a public holiday in the Philippines, the line is closed for annual maintenance, owing to fewer commuters and traffic around the metro, leaving the EDSA Carousel as an alternative mode of transport. Normal operation resumes after Easter Sunday. The first day of the 2022 Holy Week closure, which falls on the last working day of the week, has been criticized by  many commuters, due to the insufficient number of buses along the EDSA Carousel. During the Christmas and year-end holidays, the operating hours of the line are shortened due to the low ridership of the line during the holidays. It has experimented with extended opening hours, the first of which included 24-hour operations beginning on June 1, 2009 (primarily aimed at serving call center agents and other workers in the business process outsourcing sector). Citing low ridership figures and financial losses, this was suspended after two days, and operations were instead extended from 5:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Operations  subsequently returned to the former schedule (5:30 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. on weekdays, and 5:30 a.m. until 10:00 pm during weekends and holidays) by April 2010, but services were again extended starting March 10, 2014, with trains running on a trial basis from 4:30 am to 11:30 pm in anticipation of major traffic buildup in light of several major road projects beginning in 2014. History. Early planning. In 1973, the Overseas Technical Cooperation Agency (OTCA; predecessor of the Japan International Cooperation Agency) presented a plan to construct five subway lines in Metro Manila. The study was known as the Urban  Transport Study in the Manila Metropolitan Area. One of the five lines, Line 3, was planned as a along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), the region's busiest road corridor. The plan would have resolved the traffic problems of Metro Manila and would have taken 15 years to complete. Another study by JICA was presented in 1976 which included the five lines proposed in 1973. The study recommended heavy rail due to the rising population. During the construction of the first line of the Manila Light Rail Transit System in the early 1980s, Electrowatt Engineering Services of Zürich designed  a comprehensive plan for metro service in Metro Manila. The plan—still used as the basis for planning new metro lines—consisted of a network of rapid transit lines spanning all major corridors within 20 years. The study integrated the previous 1973 OTCA study, the 1976 JICA study, and the 1977 Freeman Fox and Associates study, which was used as the basis for the LRT Line 1. Development and early delays. The project was restarted as a light rail project in 1989, originally known as the LRT-3 project. It was to be bid out as a build-operate-transfer project , with the Hong Kong-based EDSA LRT Corporation winning the public bidding for the line's construction in 1991 during the term of President Corazon Aquino. However, construction could not commence, with the project stalled as the Philippine government conducted several investigations into alleged irregularities with the project's contract. In 1995, the Supreme Court upheld the regularity of the project which paved the way for construction to finally begin during the term of President Fidel V. Ramos. A consortium of local companies, led by Fil-Estate Management was later joined by Ayala Land, and 5 others, later formed the  Metro Rail Transit Corporation (MRTC) in June 1995 and took over the EDSA LRT Corporation. Construction and opening. The MRTC was subsequently awarded a Build-Lease-Transfer contract by the DOTC, which meant that the latter would possess ownership of the system after the 25-year concession period. Meanwhile, the DOTC would assume all administrative functions, such as the regulation of fares and operations, leaving the MRTC responsibility over construction and maintenance of the system as well as the procurement of spare parts for trains. MRTC would later transfer the responsibility of maintaining the system to the DOTC in November  2010. In exchange, the DOTC would pay the MRTC monthly fees for a certain number of years to reimburse any incurred costs. Construction began on October 15, 1996, with a BLT agreement signed between the Philippine government and the MRTC. An amended turnkey agreement was later signed on September 16, 1997, with Sumitomo Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. Sumitomo and Mitsubishi subcontracted EEI Corporation for the civil works. A separate agreement was signed with ČKD Dopravní Systémy (ČKD Tatra, now part of Siemens AG), the leading builder of trams and light rail vehicles for the Eastern Bloc, on rolling stock . MRTC also retained the services of ICF Kaiser Engineers and Constructors to provide program management and technical oversight of the services for the design, construction management, and commissioning. MRTC would later sign a maintenance agreement with Sumitomo and Mitsubishi for the maintenance of the line on December 10 of the same year. During construction, the MRTC oversaw the design, construction, equipping, testing, and commissioning, while the DOTC oversaw technical supervision of the project activities covered by the BLT contract between the DOTC and MRTC. The DOTC also sought the services of SYSTRA, a French consultant firm, with regards to the  technical competence, experience and track record in the construction and operations. On December 15, 1999, the initial section from to was inaugurated by President Joseph Estrada, with all remaining stations opening on July 20, 2000, a little over a month past the original deadline, due to DOTC's inclusion of additional work orders such as the Tramo overpass in Pasay leading to the Ninoy Aquino International Airport. However, ridership was initially far below expectations when the line was still partially open, with passengers complaining of the tickets' steep price and the general lack of connectivity of the stations with other  modes of public transportation. Passengers' complaint of high ticket prices pointed to the maximum fare of ₱34, which at the time was significantly higher than a comparable journey on those lines operated by the LRTA and the PNR or a similar bus ride along EDSA. Although the MRTC projected 300,000–400,000 passengers riding the system daily, in the first month of operation the system saw a ridership of only 40,000 passengers daily (the ridership improved quickly, however, when passengers experienced significantly faster and convenient travel along EDSA, which experience soon spread by word of mouth). The system was also initially  criticized as a white elephant, comparing it to the Manila Light Rail Transit System and the Metro Manila Skyway. To alleviate passenger complaints, the MRTC later reduced passenger fares to ₱15, as per the request of then President Joseph Estrada and a subsequent government subsidy. Overcrowding and later decline. MRTC projected a capacity breach in the system by 2002. By 2004, the line had the highest ridership of the three lines, with 400,000 passengers daily. By early 2012, the system was carrying around 550,000 to 600,000 commuters during weekdays and was often badly overcrowded during peak times of access  during the day and night. The line was experiencing overcapacity from 2004 to 2019. In 2011, Sumitomo, through TES Philippines, issued a warning about the overcrowding situation of the line, in which a failure to immediately upgrade the line's trains and systems would result in damage to the trains and systems. By October 2012, DOTC removed Sumitomo as the maintenance provider of the line due to the high costs of the contract. With the entry of the joint venture of Philippine Trans Rail Management and Services Corporation (PH Trams) and Comm Builders & Technology Philippines Corporation (CB&T) as the maintenance  provider in 2012, and APT Global in 2013, it marked the start of the deterioration of the line due to poor maintenance by the aforementioned maintenance providers that DOTC appointed. In 2014, there were reported daily incidents and disruptions, and a derailment of one train coach on August 13 of that year. The government of Benigno Aquino III had been planning to buy the line from the MRT Corporation (MRTC), the private concessionaire that built the line, and then bid it out to private bidders. The Aquino government accused the MRTC of neglecting and not improving the services of the  line under its watch. In February 2016, the Philippine Senate released a report stating that DOTC Secretary Jun Abaya and other DOTC officials "may have violated" the Anti-Graft and Corrupt Practices Act in relation to questionable contracts with the subsequent maintenance providers. In a Senate report where the line's condition was found to be in "poor maintenance" as per studies made by MTR HK, DOTC officials were reported to be involved in graft in relation to questionable contracts, especially those for the maintenance of the line. The DOTC tried to bid out a three-year maintenance contract in  2014 and 2015, but both biddings failed because no bidders submitted a bid. Through a negotiated procurement, the Busan joint venture, a joint venture of Busan Transportation Corporation, Edison Development & Construction, Tramat Mercantile Inc., TMICorp Inc., and Castan Corporation, was awarded a three-year maintenance contract by the DOTC. The contract started in January 2016 and was slated to end by January 2019. In 2017, DOTC's succeeding agency, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) attributed the operation's disruptions of the rail system to the Busan joint venture, later known as Busan Universal Rail, Inc. (BURI), with DOTr Transport Undersecretary  for Rails Cesar Chavez noting 98 service interruptions and 833 passenger unloadings (or average of twice daily) as well as train derailments in April–June 2017. BURI insisted that the disruptions the railway line was experiencing is due to "inherent design and quality concerns" and not to poor maintenance or normal tear or wear. It said that glitches started occurring since 2000, a claim that MRTC dismissed when Sumitomo was maintaining the system. The maintenance contract was terminated by the DOTr on November 6, 2017. Capacity expansion. Due to the high ridership of the line, a proposal under study by  the DOTC and NEDA proposed to double the current capacity by acquiring additional light rail vehicles to accommodate over 520,000 passengers a day. In January 2014, the DOTC entered into a contract with CNR Dalian for the procurement of 48 light rail vehicles. The trains, commonly referred to as the Dalian trains, were delivered in batches from 2015 to 2017. The introduction of the new trains will allow the line to now handle over 800,000 passengers. The first train was scheduled to be in revenue service before April 2016 but delays in its had delayed its deployment for revenue service . The trains entered service on May 7, 2016. However, the trains became a subject of controversy, citing its incompatibility with the signaling system and weight limits on tracks. Later, it was revealed that several adjustments to the Dalian trains are required prior to revenue run deployment. The train manufacturer CRRC Dalian has agreed to amend the train specifications to match the contract terms at no cost, and will do so in the soonest possible time. Due to the Dalian trains undergoing said adjustments, they are now slowly being introduced into revenue runs. After various tests and audits, the Department of  Transportation started the gradual deployment of the trains on October 27, 2018. Since 2013, plans were laid to increase the number of cars in each train set, from the current 3-car configuration to 4-car configuration, which also increases the number of passengers being accommodated for each trip, from 1,182 passengers to 1,576 passengers for each train set. The transportation department, along with railway experts also revealed from studies that the MRT system can upgrade the line's entire power supply and signaling systems, for the line to coincide with the high commuting demand and increase the number of  trains needed to serve the railway line daily, from 21 trains to 25-32 trains running along the line. Four-car train operations were first tested in a Dalian train in May 2016, followed by a 3000 class train that underwent a dynamic test run on March 9, 2022. Regular four-car operations started on March 28, 2022, with two four-car trains deployed for daily operations. It was subsequently increased to three four-car trains by April 18. The DOTr plans to convert all trains from three cars to four cars by 2023. Rehabilitation. As early as 2011, there  were proposals to rehabilitate the line. An unsolicited proposal were made by Metro Pacific Investments in 2011 at a cost of . Another proposal was presented in 2014 at a cost of . In 2017, in the wake of various daily service interruptions in the line, San Miguel Corporation expressed its interest to rehabilitate the line. That same year, Metro Pacific submitted another proposal to rehabilitate, operate and maintain the line. These proposals however would be rejected by the government. Following the termination of the maintenance contract with Busan Universal Rail, Inc., the DOTr announced on November 29, 2017 that it will  rehire Sumitomo Corporation as the maintenance provider of the line. The three-year contract would cover the rehabilitation and maintenance of the line. The project, partly funded by a loan from the Japan International Cooperation Agency, was approved by the Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) board of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) on August 17, 2018. It intended to rehabilitate and upgrade the existing systems and trains, for the line to return to its original high-grade design. The project was part of the Build! Build! Build! infrastructure program. A loan agreement was signed by the Philippine and Japanese  government officials on November 8, 2018. On December 28, the DOTr and Sumitomo signed the rehabilitation and maintenance contract. The project was initially slated to start by January 2019. However, an implementation of a re-enacted government budget for 2019 and finalization of documents caused repeated delays on when the project could start, which would only start on May 1, 2019. Under the 43-month contract, which is undertaken by Sumitomo Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering (part of the Mitsubishi Heavy Industries group), and TES Philippines, rehabilitation works will be done within 26 months. It covers the overhaul of all  MRTC Class 3000 vehicles, repairs on the escalators and elevators, rail replacement, upgrades on the signaling and communication systems, power supply, overhead systems, maintenance and station equipment. After the rehabilitation, a 17-month maintenance contract will be undertaken by the Japanese firms. During rehabilitation, the joint venture of Oriental Consultants Global and Tonichi Engineering Consultants was appointed as the consultant in 2019 for technical supervision of the project. The rehabilitation was originally scheduled to be completed by July 2021. However, delays brought by the COVID-19 pandemic delayed its completion to December 2021. But by the end of the year, only  38 of the 72 train cars has been refurbished. Despite this, Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade announced on February 28, 2022 that the rehabilitation has been finished in December 2021. On March 22, 2022, President Rodrigo Duterte and Secretary Tugade inaugurated the newly-rehabilitated MRT Line 3 at a completion ceremony held at Shaw Boulevard station. The contract was originally slated to end by December 2022, or 43 months after the start of the rehabilitation. It was however moved to May 2023, four years after the rehabilitation project began, due to the completion of the rehabilitation in December 2021. Station facilities , amenities, and services. With the exception of Buendia and Ayala stations, and the platform level of Taft Avenue and Boni stations, all stations are situated above ground, taking advantage of EDSA's topology. Station layout and accessibility. The stations have a standard layout, with a concourse level and a platform level. The concourse is usually above the platform, with stairs, escalators and elevators leading down to the platform level. Station concourses contain ticket booths, which is separated from the platform level by fare gates. Some stations, such as Araneta Center-Cubao, are connected at concourse level to nearby buildings, such  as shopping malls, for easier accessibility. Most stations are also barrier-free inside and outside the station, and trains have spaces for passengers using wheelchairs. Stations either have island platforms, such as Taft Avenue, Buendia, Boni Avenue, and Shaw Boulevard stations, and side platforms, such as from Magallanes station to Ayala stations, Guadalupe, and from Ortigas to North Avenue stations. Due to the very high patronage of the line, before the pandemic, part of the platform corresponding to the first car of the train is cordoned off for the use of senior citizens, pregnant women, children who are below and  age seven, and disabled passengers. Since 2021, the first two doors of the first car of the train has been allotted as a priority section for the aforementioned passengers. The station platforms have a standard length of , designed to accommodate trains with four cars. They are also designed to occupy the entire span of EDSA, allowing passengers to safely cross between one end of the road and the other. The line has a total of 46 escalators and 34 elevators across all 13 stations. Prior to the rehabilitation, only few escalators and elevators were operational. The escalators and elevators were  rehabilitated as part of the rehabilitation of the line. The project started in June 2019 and was completed on August 20, 2020. Platform screen doors were also planned for each station, with the plans for the platform doors were laid out as early as 2013, however, these plans were delayed until it was reconsidered in 2017. Shops and services. Inside the concourse of all stations are stalls or shops where people can buy food or drinks. Stalls vary by station, and some have fast food stalls. The number of stalls also varies by station, and stations tend to have a  wide variety, especially in stations such as Ayala and Shaw Boulevard. Stations such as Taft Avenue and North Avenue are connected to or are near shopping malls and/or other large shopping areas, where commuters are offered more shopping varieties. Since November 19, 2001, in cooperation with the "Philippine Daily Inquirer", passengers are offered copies of the "Inquirer Libre", a free, tabloid-size, Tagalog version of the "Inquirer", which is available at all stations. In 2014, Pilipino Mirror also started distributing free tabloid newspapers. Safety and security. The line has always presented itself as a safe system to travel in, which  was affirmed in a 2004 World Bank paper prepared by Halcrow describing the overall state of metro rail transit operations in Manila as being "good". However, in recent years after the DOTr (formerly DOTC) took over maintenance of the train system in 2012, the safety and reliability of the system has been put into question, with experts calling it "an accident waiting to happen", and while several incidents and accidents were reported between 2012 and 2014, that has not deterred commuters from continuing to patronize the system. The Philippine government, meanwhile, continues to assert that the system is safe overall  despite those incidents and accidents. With a daily ridership of around 560,000 passengers in 2014, the line operated significantly above its designed capacity of between 360,000 and 380,000 passengers per day before the COVID-19 pandemic. Operating over capacity from 2004 until 2019, government officials have admitted that capacity and system upgrades are overdue, although the DOTr never acted on the numerous capacity expansion proposals of the private owners. In the absence of major investment in improving system safety and reliability, DOTr project management office of the line has resorted to experimenting with and/or implementing other solutions to reduce strain on  the system, including crowd management on station platforms, the proposed implementation of peak-hour express train service. However, some of these solutions, such as platform crowd management, are unpopular with passengers. For safety and security reasons, persons who are visibly intoxicated, insane and/or under the influence of controlled substances, persons carrying flammable materials and/or explosives, and persons carrying bulky objects or items over tall and/or wide are prohibited from entering the line. Products in tin cans are also prohibited on board, citing the possibility of home-made bombs being concealed inside the cans. On July 12, 2021, the railway operator  allowed passengers bringing pets inside the line, but pets are needed to be placed inside a carrier bag before boarding a train. In 2000 and 2001, in response to the Rizal Day bombings and the September 11 attacks, security was stepped up on the line. Following a vandalism incident in May 2021, the security personnel deployed across all stations in the line was increased from 580 to 750 and a patrol car was deployed for added security. The Philippine National Police has a special police force, and security police provided by private companies can be found in all stations. All  stations have a head guard. Some stations may also have a deployed K9 bomb-sniffing dog. It also employs the use of closed-circuit television inside all stations to monitor suspicious activities and to assure safety and security aboard the line. Passengers are also advised to look out for thieves, who can take advantage of the crowding aboard the trains. Wanted posters are posted at all stations to help commuters identify known thieves. COVID-19 measures. As a response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the line operated at a limited capacity when public transport operations resumed on June 1, 2020 after a  three-month lockdown that halted the operations of public transport. The use of face masks (and later, face shields) became mandatory since the resumption of operations in June 2020. The use of face shields later became no longer mandatory in public transport in November 2021, except when an area is under the two highest levels of the alert level system. Social distancing measures were also implemented. Since March 1, 2022, all railway lines, including the MRT Line 3 are operating at a full capacity due to the deescalation of Metro Manila to the lowest of the five levels of the  alert level system. In addition, talking with other passengers and answering phone calls has been prohibited in the line. The policy has also been implemented in all railway lines and forms of public transport. The trains are regularly being disinfected when the train arrives at a terminus. It takes five minutes for a train to be disinfected. Ridership. The original designed ridership of the line is 350,000, yet as the years passed, the number doubled from 450,000 daily passengers in 2006–2007 to 490,000 passengers in 2008 and up to 500,000 passengers from 2010 to 2012, with record numbers reaching as  high as 620,000 from 2012 to 2013, before being reduced to 560,000 in 2014. The high ridership of the line is due to the time consumed when commuting via EDSA, as well as the speed of the trains reaching up to , and connectivity to Metro Manila's major transport hubs, railway lines, and central business districts, which results to a reduced commuting travel time and an increase in ridership. The daily ridership of the line can reach as much as 300,000 to 500,000 passengers from 2012 to 2016, despite poor maintenance and long lines, causing the government to launch bus  services, known as MRT Buses, around its stations, to serve as alternatives for 900,000 to 1 million passengers. In addition to the rising daily ridership that continues to exceed the line's designed capacity, and as the government continues to implement the metro line's capacity expansion project, it aims to reach a ridership of 800,000 daily passengers as all of the new trains from China will be added to its current fleet. Ridership declined in 2015, with a daily average of 327,314 passengers, which is lower than the 2014 record of 464,871 daily passengers on average. The ridership increased  slightly in 2016, with a daily average of 370,036 passengers, and the highest recorded daily ridership of 517,929 in December of that year. However, ridership started to decline by 2017 due to poor maintenance and daily breakdowns. Ridership continued to decline through 2018 and 2019, until a significant drop in ridership was recorded in 2020 due to capacity limitations brought by the COVID-19 pandemic, serving 70,000 to 150,000 passengers daily. It previously served almost 40,000 passengers in June 2020, and 150,000 passengers in January 2021. Until February 2022, the line operated at a limited capacity before capacity limitations were removed  by March 1, 2022. Ridership slightly increased in 2021, servicing 136,935 daily passengers on average and 45,675,884 passengers throughout the same year, due to the increased capacity in November 2021. Currently, the line serves 310,000 to 320,000 passengers daily, while running at a maximum speed of up to and operating in a headway of 3.5 to 4 minutes, from the previous in a headway of 8 to 10 minutes. On April 1, 2022, the line serviced 309,225 passengers, marking the first time that the ridership reached the 300,000-passenger mark since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. With the completion  of the rehabilitation project and the implementation of the free rides, it is estimated that 400,000 passengers will use the line, which is above the originally designed capacity of 350,000 passengers, though the introduction of four-car train sets will increase the design capacity of the line. Since the free rides were implemented, a total of 6,603,458 passengers rode the line from March 28 to April 24, 2022. It also recorded a daily average of 287,107 passengers in the same period. Statistics. Fares and ticketing. The line, like all other lines in Metro Manila, uses a distance-based fare structure , with fares ranging from 13 to 28 pesos (29 to 63 U.S. cents), depending on the destination. Commuters who ride the line are charged ₱13 for the first two stations, ₱16 for 3–4 stations, ₱20 for 5–7 stations, ₱24 for 8–10 stations and ₱28 for 11 stations or the entire line. Children below (the height of a fare gate) may ride for free. Fares are currently free of charge since March 28, 2022 due to the completion of the line's rehabilitation project, and the free rides were originally expected to end on April 30 . However, passengers will be required to have tickets when entering or exciting the line. The free rides will instead end by May 30, as announced by the DOTr on April 27. Fares are free of charge every March 8 (International Women's Day; free rides exclusive for women), June 12 (Independence Day), and December 30 (Rizal Day) on limited time slots. The line also used to offer free rides to students by July 1, 2019, but students must register to avail a student pass. However, the free rides for students stopped in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Types of  tickets. Magnetic tickets (1999–2015). Two types of tickets exist: a single-journey (one-way) ticket whose cost is dependent on the destination, and a stored-value (multiple-use) ticket for 100 pesos. The 200-peso & 500-peso stored-value tickets were issued in the past, but have since been phased out. The single-journey ticket is valid only on the date of purchase. Meanwhile, the stored-value ticket is valid for three months from date of first use. The tickets come in several incarnations: these include tickets bearing the portraits of former presidents Joseph Estrada and Gloria Macapagal Arroyo, which  have since been phased out, and one bearing the logos of the DOTC and the MRTC. Ticket shortages are common: in 2005, the MRTC was forced to recycle tickets bearing Estrada's portrait to address critical ticket shortages, even resorting to borrowing stored-value tickets from the LRTA and even cutting unusable tickets in half for use as manual passes. Shortages were also reported in 2012, and the DOTC was working on procuring additional tickets in 2014. Because of the ticket shortages, it had become common practice for regular passengers to purchase several stored-value tickets at a time, though  ticket shortages still persist. Although it has partnered with private telecommunications companies in experimenting with RFID technology as an alternative ticketing system in the past, these were phased out in 2009. Beep cards (2015–present). Currently, inter-operable beep cards with similar-to-the-previous single-journey and stored-value ticket types are now issued, along with the deployment of brand-new ticketing machines that replaced the barely-used ticketing machines that has been in place since the line's inauguration. The beep, tap-and-go tickets, loadable up to ₱10,000 can be used in all three rail lines  since December 2015. Fare adjustment. Adjusting passenger fares was ordered by President Joseph Estrada as a means to boost flagging ridership figures, and the issue of fares both historically and in the present day continues to be a contentious political issue involving officials at even the highest levels of government. Current fare levels were set on January 4, 2015, as a consequence of DOTr (formerly DOTC) having to increase fares for LRT Line 1 as per their concession agreement with MPIC-Ayala, with fare hikes delayed for several years despite inflation and rising operating costs. Prior to the current fares  levels, fares were set on July 15, 2000, under the orders of then President Estrada; this was intended to have the line become competitive against other modes of transport,<ref name="eraporder">