Philippine President’s Commuter Ride Into the Future: The Love Bus Returns

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Standing at the Valenzuela Gateway Complex last Saturday morning, September 13th, I couldn’t help but feel transported back to the 1980s. I wasn’t invited to the launch, but had to be there — commuting over 120 kilometers from home base because this was the “Love Bus,” an iconic commute in the Philippines.

I had no security credentials, so I was watching from behind the metal trestles. There, President Bongbong Marcos Jr., on his birthday today, September 13, officially launched the new Love Bus program, and memories of my daily commute from Quezon City to Mandaluyong came flooding back. Those 12 kilometers that defined my student years — air-conditioned comfort in a sweltering city, a small luxury that made the difference between arriving at school drenched in sweat or ready to learn.

The original Love Bus was revolutionary for the hot bus rides in the Philippines. The diesel-powered Hino buses were the standard vehicle. It was former first lady Imelda Marcos’s 1975 brainchild, and for all its worth, it gave us the Philippines’ first air-conditioned bus system. But for those of us who rode it through the ’80s, it wasn’t just transportation — it was a glimpse of what public transport could be. But like many ambitious projects of that era, it eventually succumbed to financial realities, leaving us with fond memories and a longing for what could have been.

His birthday gift for commuters

Fast forward nearly five decades, and here I am again, watching history repeat itself — but this time with a twist that made the occasion even more meaningful. President Bongbong Marcos Jr. had chosen to celebrate his 68th birthday not with a private party, but by giving Metro Manila’s commuters the gift of revived Love Bus service. It was a symbolic gesture that spoke volumes: rather than receiving gifts, the President was giving one to the people who need it most.

The 20 sleek electric Love Buses that lined up before us bore little resemblance to their predecessors, but the promise was the same: comfortable, reliable public transportation for Metro Manila’s weary commuters. This wasn’t just a transportation launch — it was a birthday present to an entire metropolis.

President Marcos, celebrating his 68th birthday with this launch, spoke of continuing his late father’s legacy while embracing the future. The connection wasn’t lost on me — here was the son reviving what the father’s administration had started, but this time with electric motors humming instead of diesel engines rumbling.

Marcos also said: “Tangkilikin po ninyo ang ating bagong Love Bus para makabawas pasahe, makapag-savings nang kaunti, mabawasan ang traffic, mabawasan ang pollution dahil nga electric.” (“We encourage everyone to take advantage of our new Love Bus to help reduce transportation costs, save a little, reduce traffic, and cut down on pollution since these buses are electric.)

Technology meets nostalgia

What struck me most about these new COMET electric buses wasn’t just their silent operation or their eco-friendly credentials — it was how they embodied everything the original Love Bus aspired to be. The wheelchair ramps spoke to a more inclusive vision of public transport. The mobile app integration meant real-time tracking, something we could only dream of in the analog ’80s. And, yes, they’re still air-conditioned, though now powered by clean electricity rather than fossil fuels.

The American-designed, Chinese-manufactured buses represent a global collaboration that the original Love Bus project couldn’t have imagined. Global Electric Transport (GET) Philippines, working with Smart Communications and backed by the technological expertise of EV Dynamics, has created something that feels both familiar and revolutionary.

The GET City Optimized Managed Electric Transport (COMET) is an electric minibus developed by American firm Pangea Motors and manufactured by EV Dynamics in China and distributed by GET. Often characterized as an electric mini-bus, it can be reclassified as a jeepney (e-jeep) simply by reconfiguring the seating.

The partnership with EV Dynamics, a pioneer in the manufacture of electric buses, assures that the vehicles are high tech, highly efficient, and reliable. The production plant in Chongqing where the COMET electric minibuses are assembled has been producing these vehicles for international markets.

Free rides

Perhaps the most striking difference is the fare structure — or, rather, the initial lack of one.

Throughout September, every passenger rides free. After that, seniors and PWDs continue riding at no cost, while regular commuters pay the usual fares (although I was told that the fare system will include free rides during non-peak hours). It’s an ambitious subsidy program. I am unsure if it will address one of the original Love Bus’s fatal flaws: profitability.

I only had time to board when the President went on to his next activity.

I couldn’t help but calculate: if these buses serve 600 passengers daily per route as projected, that’s 1,800 people across the three initial routes experiencing this upgraded public transport daily. Multiply that by a month of free rides, and you’re looking at a significant government investment in changing commuter behavior.

Beyond Metro Manila

What excites me most about this revival is its scope. The original Love Bus was primarily a Metro Manila phenomenon — I never saw one during trips to the provinces. But this new iteration has already conducted pilot runs in Cebu and Davao, with plans to expand across Visayas and Mindanao. The Love Bus is finally becoming what its name always suggested: a vehicle for bringing comfort and care to Filipino commuters nationwide.

Riding that gleaming electric bus from Valenzuela to Parañaque, I thought about all the students who might experience what I experienced four decades ago — that moment when public transportation becomes not just bearable, but pleasant. The quiet hum of the electric motor, the cool air conditioning, the dignity of accessible design, the convenience of app-based tracking.

The original Love Bus died because it couldn’t sustain itself financially. This new version carries the weight of that history, the promise of technological advancement, and the hope that sustainable public transport can finally work in the Philippines. Whether it succeeds where its predecessor failed remains to be seen, but for now, 20 electric buses are quietly revolutionizing how we move around Metro Manila, one free ride at a time.

As I stepped off the bus at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX), I realized I had just completed a journey that began in the 1980s — from a young student grateful for air conditioning to a witness of the Philippines’ electric transportation future.

The Love Bus is back, and this time, I want it to stay.