Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña (Left) and Metro Rapid Transit Services Inc. (MRTSI) General Manager Arnold Famudulan (right) sign an agreement for the private bus line to ferry passengers for free, to and from IT Park, to ensure the safety of Business Processing Outsource (BPO) workers especially at night till dawn.
CONTRIBUTED PHOTO/CEBU CITY PIO
More free bus rides are about to be offered to workers of Cebu’s I.T. Park.
The Cebu City Government and the Metro Rapid Transit Services Inc. (MRTSI) has inked a memorandum of agreement (MOA) meant to augment the free transportation services for employees of business processing outsource (BPO) companies.
MRTSI, which owns and operates MyBus lines in Metro Cebu, plans to deploy some of their buses to ferry passengers to I.T. Park from Barangay Mabolo, and vice-versa.
It is the first private firm in Cebu City to offer bus rides for free.
The MOA states that while MRTSI will lend their bus units, the city will subsidize the fuel costs for the trips.
MRTSI General Manager Arnold Famudulan and Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña signed the MOA Tuesday, December 4, or a week after the Cebu City Council authorized both parties to enter into the agreement.
“They are lending us buses, so that we can take care of call center agents and other night time workers. This focuses on the security of call center agents,” said Osmeña.
MRTSI’s buses will augment the lone Kaohsiung bus currently assigned for passengers along M.J. Cuenco Avenue and Pope John Paul II (formerly known as Juan Luna Avenue).
MRTSI said that it is ready to deploy at least three units in the area, with trips from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. ; but the city government has yet to come up with dates on when to begin the implementation of MRTSI’s free bus rides.
Famudulan said each bus can ferry up to 90 passengers in one trip.
“It has a 42 seater capacity. With standing, kaya niya 90 (it can carry 90),” said Famudulan.
Presently, the city deploys five Kaohsiung buses and one shuttle van to provide free transportation for workers in I.T. Park.
The routes cover the uptown and downtown areas of Cebu City as well as the city’s mountain barangays.