The recent barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections registered record-breaking number of passengers at the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT).
CSBT Manager Joey Herrera said at least 135,300 passengers flocked to the government-run terminal from Friday (May 11) to noon of election day or May 14 making it the busiest holiday ever for the bus terminal.
Herrera said the about 2,460 bus trips recorded on the above dates generated at least P369,000 for CSBT.
There are 407 registered buses in CSBT.
Each bus, Herrera said, can accommodate at least 55 passengers.
“Because of the barangay elections, the CSBT experienced something that we have not experienced over the regular holidays,” Herrera said in English and Cebuano.
Herrera admitted that they did not expect to reach that number of passengers saying they usually have around 35,000 commuters during regular
holidays like Holy Week, Christmas and All Saints Day.
“Daghan jud kaayo ang nanguli (A lot of people went home to their provinces) during the election,” he said.
Because of the unexpected volume, Herrera said some passengers have to wait for as long as six hours before they could board the buses.
On the afternoon of May 12 (Saturday) Herrera said they implemented Plan B, wherein they prohibited private vehicles from going inside the terminal, except those with passengers who were senior citizens, pregnant women or persons with disabilities (PWD).
They also transferred the passengers’ entrance near the main gate to accommodate the surge of travelers.
Because of the record number of passengers, the terminal’s bathroom ran out of water, Herrera added.
“Ako mangayo kog pasaylo gyod (I would like to apologize) for the complaints,” he said.
He said these issues will be addressed so they won’t recur.
“We will try harder to provide convenience to all the passengers. We have to find a way nga ma-address ni namo (to address these problems,”
Herrera said.