THE LIGHT Rail Transit Authority (LRTA), which operates Light Rail Transit Line 2 (LRT-2), is projecting its rail revenues to reach P1.38 billion this year after hitting last year’s target.

For 2025, LRTA expects its total passenger volume to reach 57.15 million, Hernando T. Cabrera, LRTA administrator, told BusinessWorld.

If realized, this will surpass its pre-pandemic passenger count of 56.98 million in 2019.

Data from LRTA showed that for 2025, LRT-2 is projected to see an average daily ridership of 158,321.

Mr. Cabrera said that LRTA is also expecting its non-rail revenue, which is income generated from rentals, leasing, and advertising spaces, to climb by 4.5% to P138.05 million in 2025, from last year’s target of P132.09 million.

Last year, LRTA’s gross revenue from rail operations stood at P1.27 billion, up by 15.5% from P1.10 billion in 2023. This is well within LRTA’s target of P1.2 billion for rail revenues in 2024.

Broken down, LRTA recorded a gross revenue of P339.27 million for the fourth quarter of 2024, higher by 4.03% from P326.12 million in the same period in 2023.

Further, LRTA recorded a total passenger count of 53.3 million in 2024, marking a 7.8% increase from the 49.43 million in 2023, but still lower than the 56.98 million passenger tally in 2019. — Ashley Erika O. Jose