An SMB Tourist Transport bus waits for passengers who would like to avail of its Libreng Sakay program for medical frontliners and APORs.
CEBU CITY, Philippines — Some 15 buses from the SMB Tourist Transport will be providing free rides for medical frontliners and Authorized Person Outside Residence (APOR) starting Monday, May 25, 2021.
Mark Anthony Boyo, the owner of SMB Tourist Transport, said that eight buses will ply from Cebu City to Carmen town in northern Cebu, while the remaining seven buses will ply from Talisay City to Lapu-Lapu City and vice-versa.
The free rides will last until June 30. Each bus can accommodate 30 passengers per trip.
“Ang atong gibuhat ani, amo lang gyud gisultihan among mga driver nga dili gyud magpasakay og wala’y face shield, wala’y face mask unya naa pud tay alcohol nga i-andam. Basta ang amo lang gyud gihangyo libre na sila sa ilang pagsakay, makatipid na sila, ang importante lang namo mag face shield na sila og mag face mask,” Boyo said.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-7 assistant regional director Reynaldo Elnar also said that the free ride that was offered by SMB Tourist Transport was based on the service-contracting program of the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
According to Elnar that Central Visayas received an allocation of P170 million from the P5 billion budget for the said program of DOTr, which will serve as assistance to passengers, drivers, and operators in this time of the pandemic.
Each bus and coaster will receive a payment of P82.50 per kilometer while P52.50 per kilometer will be paid for vans and modernized jeepneys.
“Actually gasige mi og kumbinsir sa mga operator nga moapil aning programa, in fact kining gi-compute sa operator ang kining mga bus gibayaran na sila per kilometer nga ma-travel nila which is 82.50 per kilometer ug ari ta sa modern puj mga tourist van ang bayad ana nila 52.50 kilimoter mao na gi-compute sa mga operators sa mga drivers ang ilang kitaon so medyo dako-dako daghan na ang niapil. In fact ang instruction ni secretary mas maayo,” Elnar said. /rcg