By Jhon Aldrin Casinas Local government units (LGUs) in Metro Manila have come to the aid of commuters during the nationwide transport strike on Monday by deploying vehicles that offered free rides to the riding public. (MANILA BULLETIN FILE PHOTO) According to the Pasig Transport, free rides were available for commuters from 5 a.m. to 12 noon, and again at 1 p.m. until 8 p.m. Among the routes included were Palengke to LRT-2 Santolan, Palengke to Crossing, San Joaquin to Crossing, SM City East Ortigas to Meralco, SM City East Ortigas to Palengke, and San Joaquin to Market Market. Marikina City government also rolled out vehicles to help commuters affected by the strike. According to Marikina City Rescue 161, pick-up and drop-off points were set up at Nangka, NGI Parang, Panorama SSS VIII, Savemore Bayan, Marikina Sports Center, and at LRT-2 Santolan and Katipunan Stations. Class suspension The transport strike also led LGUs in the eastern part of the metropolis to suspend classes in their respective cities. Classes in all levels, both public and private, were suspended on Monday in Marikina, Pasig and San Juan. For his part, Marikina Mayor Marcelino “Marcy” Teodoro said the class suspension was “to ensure the safety and convenience of students and school personnel” amid the strike. In Mandaluyong City meanwhile, classes resumed on Monday despite the strike. “May pasok sa Lungsod ng Mandaluyong bukas, Sept. 30, 2019 (Monday) dahil napagkasunduan ng mga transport groups sa ating lungsod na hindi sila lalahok sa gaganaping nationwide transport strike,” Mayor Menchie Abalos announced in a Facebook post Sunday. (Classes will resume in the City of Mandaluyong tomorrow, September 30, 2019 because transport groups in the city had an agreement not to join the nationwide transport strike.) “Malapit din ang mga eskwelahan sa mga tahanan ng mga mag-aaral (Schools are also located near the homes of our students),” she added. The mayor has also left to the discretion of private schools and colleges the decision if they would suspend their classes. However, the decision not to suspend classes drew flak from some netizens online. A netizen commented on the post, saying that it was “irrational” not to suspend classes. “At first, it was okay that classes would not be suspended. I was fine with that, since I'm looking forward to finally be done with prelims,” the netizen said in comment. “But now that almost all cities from Metro Manila have suspended their classes due to the strike, I think it's irrational to not suspend classes just because the transport groups of your city will not be participating the strike. Think of the students living outside your city,” the post read. Various transport groups held a nationwide transport strike Monday to protest the government’s plan of totally phasing out jeepneys by next year.