At his fourth State of the Nation Address, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. shared that the Love Bus is currently in pilot testing in Cebu and Davao, and is set to reach more cities across Visayas and Mindanao.
The Department of Transportation then announced that it is preparing to officially roll out the free public transportation line, and aims to operationalize it nationwide before the end of the year.
The agency also released renderings of what the updated Love Bus could look like, featuring a slightly updated logo on a new provincial unit. The new livery adopts a more minimalist look, using fewer colors and accents while retaining the signature blue base and white stripe across the middle.
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If you recall, Hino Motors Philippines released its version of the Love Bus back in 2022. It adopted the same color scheme but removed the heart-shaped border around the logo—seemingly the opposite of what the DOTr came up with. It will be interesting to see how the DOTr’s new design will be adopted on various bus types. Perhaps we’ll even see a few Love Bus-inspired jeepneys and other public vehicles in those retro hearts.
The DOTr has yet to comment on when the Love Bus will reach cities outside of Cebu and Davao. Recently, the agency has also deployed several buses and jeepneys around the aforementioned cities, as part of multiple Libreng Sakay, or free ride programs. Cebu is also preparing to build its bus transit system, which is set to accommodate around 70,000 commuters daily.
