The Cebu South Bus Terminal located along Natalio Bacalso Avenue in Cebu City has resumed operations on September 9. | CDN Digital File Photo
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Cebu province’s largest bus terminal may have already resumed its operations but its management continues to struggle from the effects of its five-month closure.
Carmen Quijano, Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) manager, said they experienced a massive drop in their revenues due to the terminal’s temporary closure and the low passenger traffic that they’ve had since the resumption of their operations on Wednesday, September 9.
READ: Cebu South Bus Terminal reopens after five months of closure
The terminal that could accommodate as much as 10, 000 travelers during the peak season, was only able to cater to about 1, 000 passengers in the last three days.
“Even if we may have already reopened the south bus terminal, the fact that only a few passengers came, operations are still far from going back to normal,” added Quijano.
Quijano said that the terminal’s biggest earning only amounted to P70, 000 or around 30 percent its daily average revenue of about P200, 000.
“Before the pandemic happened, we can collect an average of P200,000 per day. This includes rental fees from tenants, fees from the use of our facilities like our comfort rooms, and from bus operators,” Quijano said in Cebuano.
Quijano said they did not earn anything while terminal operations were suspended since April. They especially ceased from collecting rentals from their tenants or those that sell pasalubongs and refreshments within the terminal’s premises.
“We also received advice from the provincial treasurer that since the tenants were not earning, we did not compel them to pay their rents,” Quijano said.
Quijano said that their collection of a very minimal income is expected to continue in the next few days since many of their tenants have not also resumed operations.
The terminal manager said they are now thinking of means to increase their revenue generation in the last four months of 2020.
“At this point, we’re still observing the situation to determine our next steps,” she said.
Governor Garcia ordered the CSBT closed in April as a result of the implementation of strict border control measures to prevent those coming from Cebu City to travel to the countryside. / dcb