Free bus rides for stranded Cebu City south commuters
At least two Kaohsiung buses will start plying today (Nov. 29) in downtown Cebu City to Barangay Bulacao route and vice versa from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m.
Cebu City Councilor Dave Tumulak, deputy mayor on police matters, said in an interview on Wednesday (Nov. 28) that the buses would be deployed to help ferry stranded commuters despite the opening of the side roads three days ago to vehicular traffic of the multi-billion underpass in Barangay Mambaling, Cebu City.
The Kaohsiung buses will ferry southern Cebu City commuters from Barangay Bulacao to Elizabeth Mall (Emall) in Corner Leon Kilat St. and N. Bacalso Ave., Cebu City, from 6 a.m to 9 a.m.,” Tumulak said.
He said that the Kaohsiung bus rides would be free.
Tumulak observed the traffic in the area for three days, and he noticed that despite the faster flow of traffic from the south Cebu to downtown Cebu City, there were still hundreds of stranded commuters, especially in the morning, on the streets.
He said the commuters found it difficult to get public jeepney rides to their work and school, but, this only happened in the mornings.
So he recommended the deployment of the buses, which was approved by Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña.
“The mayor has approved our recommendation. Para paghabwa gyud sa mga commuters, aron way ma-stranded ug aron dili pud ma-late ang atong mga students and workers sa ilang trabaho (The mayor approved our recommendation so that there would be no stranded commuters, and workers and students would not be late for work and school),” Tumulak told reporters on Wednesday.
He said that the buses would ply the route until there would be an improvement of the situation with regard to the stranded passengers.
Engineer Roy Dela Cruz, Department of Public Works and Highways in Central Visayas (DPWH-7) project engineer, welcomed the development saying it would help address the lack of jeepneys to ferry passengers to downtown Cebu City.
Last Monday, the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) implemented a new traffic scheme in the side roads of the underpass project.
North and southbound lanes of N. Bacalso Avenue will accommodate only northbound vehicles or vehicles going to Cebu City from 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. These lanes will also prioritize jeepneys.
From 9 a.m. onwards, PUJs bound for the south can already use the southbound side road.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
