Free bus rides are being offered by the local government unit of Dumanjug to its residents on October 31 and November 1. | PHOTO from the Municipality of Dumanjug Facebook Page
CEBU CITY, Philippines — There is still such a thing as free lunch.
Or in the case for those who are heading home to the town of Dumanjug: free bus rides.
The announcement was made on the official page of the Municipality of Dumanjug on Wednesday afternoon, October 30.
Dumanjug Mayor Efren Guntrano Gica said free bus rides will be provided to the constituents of the town to help bring the residents or natives of Dumanjug from the city to their hometown to observe All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
Gica said the local government will be fielding one coaster today, October 31, to transport passengers going to the city and back to Dumanjug, which is located 78 kilometers southwest of Cebu City.
From Cebu City, the coaster will wait for Dumanjug-bound passengers at a gasoline station located near V. Rama Avenue.
The first two trips departed at 6 and 8 a.m. on Thursday, October 31, while the third and fourth trips bound for Dumanjug will leave at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m.
For Cebu City bound passengers, the coaster will depart at the Executive Building in Dumanjug at 3 a.m., 5 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.
The same schedules will apply on Friday, November 1.
Dumanjug Mayor Efren Guntrano Gica emphasised that the free bus rides are exclusive for town constituents.
The LGU coaster will only pick up and drop off passengers from the city to the town’s municipal building and vice versa.
Dumanjug is among the towns that regularly fielded buses as augmentation to the bus liners at the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) during holidays when there is an influx of passengers.
This year, in the observance of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, the CSBT management did not ask the local government units (LGUs) to field buses.
Governor Gwendolyn Garcia, in an interview, explained that she did not ask the LGUs to field their buses because they may also need the vehicles in their respective towns.
Instead, Garcia asked bus liners to augment the number of vehicles with tourist buses that will ply the southern Cebu route.
The buses are issued special permits by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). / celr