CEBU CITY, Philippines — In the hopes to make more trips and accommodate the volume of passengers during the Holy Week, the management of the Cebu North Bus Terminal (NBT) is calling on to the traffic managers of Mandaue City and Consolacion town to improve the traffic flow in their areas.
Zosimo Jumao-as Jr., manager of the NBT, said the heavy traffic problem in these areas makes it difficult for buses to make faster turnarounds, which means lesser round trips.
“Lisod gyud nga in one hour or one hour and a half, naa pa ka sa Consolacion area. Going to Maya [port] imbis unta three to four hours, maabot na na og six to eight hours. Mag-expect unta ta nga maka-round trip na ta [within that time] pero unsaon pag-round trip nga maipit man ta diha?” Zosimo told CDN Digital.
(It’s really tough that in one hour or one hour and a half, you’re still in the Consolacion area. Going to Maya, instead of three to four hours, you’ll arrive in six to eight hours. We already expect to make a round trip within that time but how could we make a round trip if we get stuck in those areas?)
On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, passengers bound for northern Cebu have started to fill the terminal. But Jumao-as said that they are expecting the peak volume of passengers to flock to the terminal starting Wednesday afternoon until Thursday.
Based on the data of the CNBT, passenger volume during Holy Wednesday in 2018 reached 25,000 or over four times the daily average of 6,000 passengers that the terminal services on a regular day. Holy Thursday passenger volume was at 19,000 last year.
Meanwhile, Jumao-as said they have started to tighten their security to ensure the safety of their travelers.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency in Central Visayas (PDEA-7) has already administered drug testing on bus drivers and bus conductors on Monday, April 15. None of the 139 bus personnel tested positive for drug use.
“Ang mga sniffing dogs, basin tomorrow naa na kay sa PDEA man pod na pero anytime moari na sila randomly. Ang security guards, mo-augment sad mi ugma kay ugma among gi-expect nga heavy nga traffic sa passengers kay ugma mostly half-day man,” Jumao-as said. /bmjo