Cooler terminal, more buses to accommodate passengers

A staffer of the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) supervises the loading of passengers at the Cebu South Bus Terminal in Natalio Bacalso Avenue. (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO)

Southbound passengers can expect a more comfortable Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) with airconditioning boosted by a new three-phase electrical system that starts operating this week.

Ramon Dumayac, terminal operations chief, said they installed the system to power a centralized airconditioning system, some of whose units have malfunctioned due to power surges and shortages.

A transformer was installed for this upgraded electrical system early this month.

“We will have our three-phase (electrical system) this week. Our sliding doors are complete already,” he told reporters yesterday.

Glass windows had to be removed and extra industrial fans placed in waiting areas to ventilate the terminal. These are also used to cool passengers during the summer months.

Sliding glass windows secured with metal grills were recently installed to close the waiting areas.

By January next year, Dumayac said the management will buy additional airconditioning units to complement their existing six.

Dumayac said they also set up tents and cleared the waiting area at the back of the terminal for the expected surge of passengers during the holidays.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) conducted a routine inspection on buses at the CSBT yesterday to check on the vehicles’ road worthiness.

The board also granted special permits for 44 Ceres bus units to service southern and midwest Cebu and 41 units for northern Cebu.

The special permits applied by Vallacar Transit Inc., meant they can service more passengers and collect fares outside of their original routes.

LTFB-7 director Reynaldo Elnar said the special permits are effective from December 18 to January 6.

“These units that have special permits have short distance trips based on their franchise,” Elnar said.

Elnar said ten additional bus units are needed for southern Cebu.

He said he will ask the Vallacar Transit Inc. if they could still apply for special permits for 10 more units. At least 200 bus units are operational for Cebu.

Other bus operators can also apply for special permits.

For convenience, LTFRB-7 has help desks today in all bus terminals to accommodate operators applying for special permits.

Operators only need to present documents like the registration, franchise and the insurance of the units.

Elnar said operators who don’t have special permits yet service passengers outside of their assigned routes can be fined P1 million under the Joint Administrative Order (JAO) 2014-01.

“There were no violators so far because of the strict implementation of JAO as well as their awareness on the higher fines for violators,” Elnar said.

Dumayac also said the Cebu City government’s Office of the Building Official (OBO) approved the facility’s building permit more than 20 years after it was built.

He said the permit was issued last December 11. The CSBT has been operating without building and occupancy permits since it started operating in 1981 during the tenure of former governor Emilio Mario “Lito” Osmeña.

CSBT management only started working on the application for a building permit after announcements of improvements on the facility.

After securing a building permit, Dumayac said the management will secure an occupancy permit.