PHILIPPINE STAR/MIGUEL DE GUZMAN

THE Light Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), the operator of Light Rail Transit Line-2 (LRT-2) generated nearly P1-billion revenue in the first three quarters of the year, surpassing pre-pandemic level.

In the nine months to September, the operator of the LRT-2 generated a gross revenue of P934.47 million from fare collection, climbing by 21.34% from the P770.15 million in the same period last year.

This year’s gross revenue collection is 4% higher from the P898.39 million in the comparable period in 2019, data from its website showed.

For the third quarter of the year, LRTA collected a gross revenue of P311.85 million, marking an increase of 6.1% from last year’s P293.95 million.

In the January-to-September period, LRTA said passenger volume jumped to 38.91 million from the 35.91 passengers logged in the same period last year. However, this year’s passenger volume is still below the 47.16 million passengers recorded in the January-to-September period in 2019.

For the third quarter alone, LRTA carried a total of 13.02 million passengers, higher by 2.3% than last year’s 12.73 million passengers.

The operator of LRT-2 is expecting its total revenues for 2024 to hit P1.33 billion this year with about 50.7 million anticipated ridership in 2024.

Earlier, LRTA said it is projecting daily average ridership to reach 140,444 from 136,921 last year. — Ashley Erika O. Jose