Southbound passengers wait in line for the next available bus at the South Bus Terminal.
CDN photo/ Tonee Despojo
LONG queues marked the operations of the North Bus Terminal as passengers waited for hours just to get a ride to their respective destinations.
Elvie Mendoza waited for at least three hours for buses bound for Tabogon town, northern Cebu, to be with her family during the holiday and was surprised by the volume of passengers all waiting for a ride.
“Magpaabot lang gyod ko ani kay aron lang makauli,” said Mendoza, who arrived at the terminal at 8 a.m.
(I have to wait so I could go home).
Zosimo Jumao-as Jr., chairman of the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Multi -Purpose Cooperative (CPBO – MPC) – who manages the terminal – said they have enough buses but the number of units could not keep up with the influx of passengers going home for All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day.
“Karon nanobra gyod ang pasahero kay dungan man ang tanan pamauli,” said Jumao-as.
At the Cebu South Bus Terminal operations normalized yesterday after Wednesday’s 12-hour queues.
CSBT Manager Jonathan Tumulak said the long lines last Wednesday were because the buses could not return to the terminal immediately, “Daghan kaayog pasahero unya wala pa kabalik ang mga buses gikan sa south. Apan pag-abot og alas 8, nangabot na ang buses gikan south hangtod nga na normal na siya pag alas 12 rung adlawa (November 1),” said Tumulak.
(There were too many passengers and the buses were not able to come back from the south. However, at around 8 p.m. the buses began coming back until the operation normalized at noon today.)
He added that the commissioned buses from the Local Government Units of Oslob, Sibonga, Dumanjug, Ginatilan and Alegria, helped transport the stranded passengers.
“Dako kaayog tabang ang mga libreng buses kay nahakot gyod ang mga pasahero. Nakwaan ang mga na-stranded,” said Tumulak.
(The free buses helped a lot to cater to the passengers. There were less stranded passengers.)
Meanwhile Transportation Development Officer Eugenio Ibo Jr. of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB -7) said buses also have a long turn around time, causing the delay of trips.
“Dugay ng ilahang pagbalik kay maigo pud sila sa traffic maong taas og waiting time diri sa terminal,” said Ibo.
But as of 1:30 p.m., Jumao-as said the operations at the terminal has returned to normal as many buses arrived already which helped ferry passengers going north.
Ibo added that the LTFRB’s issuance of special permits to at least 100 bus units have also helped in accommodating the volume of passengers heading to the country side.
“We issued special permits for the whole Cebu. Still ang volume kay misobra gyod sa availability sa atong mga sakyanan,” said Ibo.
The special permits for buses took effect last Oct. 31 to Nov. 5 – which is also expected that many passengers will head back to the city from the long weekend.