LRT, MRT operating hours, rates back to normal

After working overtime to accommodate passengers while tropical storm "Ondoy" (Ketsana) lashed Metro Manila during the weekend, the Light and Metro Rail Transit systems went back to normal operations Monday. Radio dzXL reported that Transportation assistant secretary Reynaldo Berroya confirmed that the LRT and MRT resumed "normal hours and rates" as of Monday morning. Earlier, the LRT and MRT charged only P10 in all stations to accommodate commuters who were stranded by floodwaters. [See: MRT cuts fare to P10 in all stations] Both the MRT and LRT normally charge up to P15, depending on the destination of the passenger. While the LRT operates from 5 a.m. up to 11 p.m., and up to 9:30 p.m. on weekends, the MRT operates from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., with a special "midnight train" operation up to 1 a.m. MRT connects Taft Avenue in Manila to North Avenue in Quezon City while the LRT links Baclaran in southern Metro Manila to Monumento in Caloocan City. During the weekend, the LRT and MRT operated on a 24-hour basis to accommodate stranded commuters affected by Ondoy. It was Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr. who had called on the Department of Transportation and Communications to keep the MRT and the Manila Light Rail Transit (LRT) open for commuters during the weekend. - GMANews.TV