MANILA: Several government agencies on Wednesday deployed free ride buses to serve passengers affected by the temporary shutdown of the Light Rail Transit Line 1 (LRT-1) during the Holy Week. In a Bagong Pilipinas Ngayon interview, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Director for Traffic Enforcement Group Victor Nuñez said four buses have so far been deployed on routes along the LRT-1. 'But we'll try our best na maka-20 na mag-augment ng mga buses on our part. Especially uwian ngayong hapon (But we'll try our best to have 20 buses for augmentation on our part. Especially by afternoon rush hour),' Nuñez said. To date, these four buses plus three light-duty trucks and two military trucks were deployed from EDSA Taft to Monumento and vice versa and are scheduled for deployment during morning and afternoon rush hours. In addition, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) will deploy 50 buses on the same route, from 4 a.m. onwards beginning Maundy Thursday. 'These buses will have pickup and drop off points along Taft Avenue, specifically Edsa-Taft, Gil Puyat, Doroteo Jose, Carriedo, and Monumento,' the DOTr said in an advisory. The LRT-1 began its temporary suspension of operations on Wednesday and will end on Easter Sunday, with normal operations to resume by April 1 at its usual start time of 4:30 a.m. The temporary closure will allow the Light Rail Manila Corporation (LRMC), the private operator and maintenance provider of the LRT-1, to conduct annual preventive maintenance activities as well as facilitate the testing activities for the system integration of the LRT-1 Cavite Extension. Source: Philippines News Agency