- Transport group says the offer to consumers will last until July
THE DRIVERS Association of the Philippines Initiative Group Inc. (DAPIGI) said the free rides for consumers downtown are eyed to last until July.
Marvin Sardido Ferrando, president and founder of DAPIGI, said they partnered with MS Ferrando Driving Institute Inc. to alleviate the burden of daily transportation costs for commuters downtown.
“In the first three months, now that the gas prices have increased,” Ferrando told TIMES in a Tuesday phone interview on the duration of the offer. “If the price returns to normal, we will end the program.”
Under the program, DAPIGI will compensate the drivers for the 10 jeepneys plying routes of Boulevard to San Pedro Street, passing through C.M. Recto Avenue, Roxas Avenue, J.P. Laurel Avenue, Cabaguio, Agdao, Uyanguren, and returning to Boulevard.
“Nakatabang mi sa driver kay nabayran na sila, nakatabang pa mi sa commuter, mas lamang pa sila nga nituyok sila bayad na, sure na ang income, kaysa motuyok usahay way pasahero (We help the driver because we pay them, and we also help the commuters. The drivers are even better off because they go around with guaranteed income, compared to going around sometimes with no passengers),” he said.
The program will run every Monday and Friday, twice a day, with scheduled trips at 7:30 a.m. and at 3:30 p.m.
He added that the drivers are not prohibited from working extra hours to earn a bigger take-home pay as long as they fulfill their obligations under the program.
Initially, the program only covers Route 4, but Ferrando said they are targeting to launch free rides on other routes in the succeeding weeks.
On top of the compensation for drivers under this initiative, DAPIGI will also conduct a community pantry for the transport sector, to be positioned in Sasa, Toril, Calinan, and in the downtown area in the last week of April.
Ferrando said DAPIGI aims to train willing drivers from its 3,000 members who may enroll in a sustainable livelihood program so they can have another source of income.
