“Sana po rito sa ating Love Bus ay maging mas maginhawa po ang inyong araw pagpunta sa trabaho at maging sa pag-uwi.”
This was the wish of President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. during the re-launch of the iconic ‘Love Bus’ on Saturday (September 13) at the Valenzuela Gateway Complex (VGC) in Valenzuela City, which coincided with the chief executive’s 68th birthday celebration.
President Marcos, in his message, emphasized that the Love Bus are electric bus fleets that will help ease the woes of commuters while minimizing air pollution since they do not exhaust carbon emissions.
“Tangkilikin po ninyo ang ating bagong Love Bus para makabawas pasahe, makapag-savings ng kaunti, mabawasan ang traffic, mabawasan ang pollution dahil nga electric, at malaki rin na tulong ito para sa ating sitwasyon dito sa Metro Manila,” the President urged the participants in the send-off activity.
The new Love Bus units are under the Persons with Disabilities – Electric Transportation Service (PWD-ETS) Project of the Department of Social Welfare and Development’s (DSWD) Sustainable Livelihood Program (SLP).
Each bus unit is equipped with ramps for wheelchairs and other accessibility features, addressing the transportation obstacles faced by those with mobility issues.
All persons with disabilities and senior citizens can avail of the Love Bus service for free.
DSWD Secretary Rex Gatchalian said the PWD-ETS is a pilot project in partnership with Global Electric Transport (GET) Philippines. It aims to provide livelihood grants to persons with disabilities who are members of SLP associations (SLPAs) the opportunity to purchase electric vehicles that are disability-friendly.
“Isa sa inisyatibo ng ating Pangulo na mabigyan ng konbinyente, ligtas, at libre na sakay ang mga mamamayan natin patungo sa iba’t ibang dako ng mga pinagtatrabahuhan nila,” Secretary Gatchalian said during the ceremonial send-off.
During the activity, some 20 SLPAs each received Php2,25 million in livelihood grants for the operation of 20 Love Bus units.
One of the beneficiaries who expressed her gratitude to the project was SLPA President Amelia Gatuz of the Valenzuela Cluster 7 PWD-ETS.
“Naniniwala po ako na ang programang ito na ipinagkaloob sa amin ng DSWD-SLP ay magkakaroon ng malaking tulong at ginhawa sa aming mga persons with disabilities. Makakaasa po kayo na pangungunahan ko ang pagtataguyod ng aming proyekto, katuwang ang ibang miyembro ng aming asosasyon upang mapalago namin ang kaloob na livelihood grants mula sa SLP ng DSWD,” Amelia said in her message.
The e-buses will initially operate in two routes. The first route is from VGC to the DSWD Central Office in Batasan Hills, Quezon City, and vice-versa. The second route is from VGC to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), and vice-versa.
Regular commuters may avail of the ‘libreng sakay’ program of the Love Bus during rush hour which is from 6:00am-9:00am and 5:00pm-8:00pm daily.
The Love Buses will provide free rides to all passengers for the whole month of September.
To avail of the service, commuters may download the Love Bus app via Play Store for Android users or Apple Store for iPhone users. (AKDL)
