Be safe, ride buses at terminals

Land Transportation Office and Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board agents inspect passenger buses at the Cebu South Bus Terminal, an operation which they called Oplan Ligtas Biyahe (CDN PHOTO/CHRISTIAN MANINGO).

People taking the bus home for the long weekend and to celebrate the All Souls’ and All Saints’ Days are advised to take their rides inside the bus terminals to prevent riding in colorum buses.

Director Ahmed Cuizon of Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board in Central Visayas (LTFRB-7) said that it is safer for them to take the buses inside the terminals since these have already been inspected by the government agencies.

“Most colorum buses avoid going inside the terminals precisely because of the inspections,” Cuizon told Cebu Daily News.

Waiting for rides at the bus terminals may take a little while, but Cuizon said that at least it is safe to say that the buses are not colorum.

“And so these conform to government safety standards, which means that in case of accidents, God forbid, the passengers of these buses are covered by insurance,” Cuizon added.

Cuizon said that the Land Transportation Office (LTO) will take care of ensuring that buses are also not overloaded when they pass by Talisay and other areas all over the province.

The LTFRB has also established help desks for both north and south bus terminals where staff are assigned to extend assistance including issuance of special permits to buses for out-of-line operations.

The assistance desks are placed until November 2, and even if the LTFRB office will be closed for the holiday period, there are still issuance of special permits that are needed for routes which may be underserved by buses.

As of yesterday afternoon, 149 special permits for buses have been issued. Most of these are for Cebu City–Bato in the south, Cebu City–San Remigio & Daanbantayan in the north.

Most buses applying for special permits are from Vallacar Transit (Ceres) with 125 units.

Meanwhile for jeepneys, 121 special permits were issued as of today.

“If they meet violators in the terminals, they will of course still act on them and impose sanctions if necessary,” Cuizon said.

LTFRB will also coordinate with personnel from LTO, Philippine National Police (PNP) and terminal management officials to lookout violators.

Cuizon also reminded the public for jeepneys that no “pakyaw” of passengeres would be allowed.

Cuizon also reminds the operators to ensure that the drivers who would serve the public vehicles should have enough rest and not be overworked.

“Well, as per Labor Code, eight hours of work per day. Naa man jud na silay reserve drivers because even on ordinary days. The drivers take turns in availing of their day off man,” he added.

Drivers are also advised to take adequate rest and not to engage in drinking sprees during their rest days.

As of yesterday afternoon, however, there were still normal flow of passengers observed at the Cebu North Bus Terminal and the Cebu South Bus Terminal.

Prima Morallas, a female guard at the CSBT assigned at the entry and exit areas of passengers, said that there were still less passenger arrivals yesterday.

“There are not too many passengers today, but we expect them to surge on Sunday and Monday,” Morallas told Cebu Daily News in Cebuano.

She added that the number of passengers usually decreases again by November 1.

She said that most of the passengers who flocked the terminal yesterday are headed to Oslob and Barili towns.

Senior citizens, persons with disability (PWD) and pregnant women will be prioritized for boarding in the terminal where special rows of seats were designated for them per bus lane.

Morallas said that only the priority passengers are allowed to avail of the seats and their companions will have to line up as regular passengers.