Marcos revives iconic Love Bus

MANILA, Philippines — The iconic Love Bus, the popular public transportation during the 1970s, will soon be rolling again in cities. What’s even better is the rides will be for free.

President Marcos, in his fourth State of the Nation Address (SONA) yesterday, announced the revival of the blue buses emblazoned with large red hearts as part of his administration’s continuing efforts to improve the transport sector and make travel safer and more convenient for Filipinos.

“I’ll ask some of you here: do you remember what we called the ‘Love Bus’? This was the popular public utility bus in Metro Manila, which started in the 1970s. We will not only bring back the Love Bus, we make it free,” Marcos said to the applause of those at the plenary hall of the Batasang Pambansa.

He said pilot testing for the return of the buses is being done in Davao City and Cebu City. Soon, more of these will be seen in other areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.

Launched in the mid-1970s as one of the projects of former first lady Imelda Marcos, the Love Bus was the first air-conditioned bus in Metro Manila with a metal monocoque body – compared to the wooden buses at that time. It was also the first to operate with scheduled departures and mandated queues for riders.

Rene Santiago, in his paper published in the Philippine Transportation Journal in 2021, said the Love Bus was the visible feature of the first wave of bus reforms in 1975.

“Everybody fell in love – literally and figuratively – with the Love Bus. From 1976 to 1983, it became the icon of what a good public transit system should be. At its peak, MMTC (Metro Manila Transit Corp.) was operating more than 700 buses. Of the number, 299 were Love Buses, constituting 25 percent of the total fleet in the market. It experimented on new routes, express with limited stops and regular/economy lines with multiple stops, without requiring prior approval or permit from the transport regulator,” Santiago said.

Marcos also vowed to expand the administration’s infrastructure projects, including those that will enhance mobility as well as trade and commerce, some of which will be completed after his term.

“We are not building only for today, we are building also for tomorrow,” he said.

While the government continues to make progress in constructing the North-South Commuter Railway and Metro Manila Subway, he said it is also finding ways to improve the services of the light railway systems, such as increasing to 50 percent the fare discounts to students, senior citizens and persons with disabilities.

He noted that the government has also rolled out the controversial Dalian trains from China that were procured over 10 years ago.