Travelers return to Cebu as holiday break ends

Those who left Cebu during the holiday break are back.

But Cebu South Bus Terminal Manager Joy Tumulak said the terminal was not as crowded as it was last week since travelers would immediately leave after they disembark from their buses.

“Daghan na ang naabot, namalik sa Cebu (A lot of people have arrived back in Cebu),” said Tumulak.

Tumulak said that availability of buses from south Cebu localities also helped prevent congestion at the terminal.

Carcar City and the municipalities of Ginatilan, Oslob, Dumanjug, Sibonga and Alegria provided free ride to their constituents on their way back to Cebu City on Sunday.

The municipality of Dumanjug for example deployed three buses to ferry their residents to Cebu City.

The first trip left the municipality that is located on the southwestern part of the province as early as 6 a.m.

The two other succeeding trips were scheduled at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m., respectively.

The municipal government also distributed hot porridge to passengers who boarded the first trip to Cebu City, Tumulak said.

Dumanjug town’s buses made three other trips in the afternoon at 3 p.m., 4 p.m. and 5 p.m., and three more at night time scheduled at 9 p.m., 10 p.m. and 11 p.m., respectively.

Carcar City in south Cebu also deployed a bus to ferry their residents to Cebu City on Sunday.

“Nakita gyud nako sa mga pasahero nga nakasakay nga positive ilang reaction. Nalipay sila sa maong programa tungod kay nakauli sila sa ilaha ug nakalibre pa gyud sila sa ilang plete (We saw the positive reaction of the travelers to our free ride offerings. They were happy with the program because they were able to go home without spending in their fares),” said Tumulak.

In northern Cebu, the municipality of Medellin also offered free bus rides for their residents from their town plaza to the Cebu provincial capitol rounds and vice versa.

The town’s bus made two round trips daily from October 31 to November 4, 2018.

Passengers will have to pay a fare of more than P100 for a one-way bus trip to northern or southern Cebu destinations.

Tumulak is hopeful that the six south Cebu local government units that offered free ride during the All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day breaks would also extend the same program to Christmas Day travelers.

At the same time, he is urging other south Cebu LGUs to also extend the same kind of service to their constituents.

Tumulak said this year’s passenger traffic at the CSBT reached at least 300,000, which was way higher than last year’s 266,000 terminal visitors during the All Souls’ and All Saints’ Day celebrations.

He said that the long holiday was a major consideration in the influx of travelers this year.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Coast Guard in Central Visayas (PCG-7) also recorded around 100,184 passengers who left and arrived at the ports of Cebu from November 1 to 3.

Lt. JG Michael Encina, PCG-7 spokesperson, said the most number of inbound passengers amounting to 34,223 was recorded on November 2.

These passengers mostly came from Bohol province and other parts of Cebu province.