Buses seen as alternatives to jeepneys

Government vehicles ferried passengers to work and school in the cities of Mandaue and Lapu-Lapu yesterday during the nationwide transport strike.

That gave Lapu-Lapu City Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Officer Andy Berame the idea to possibly allow buses to run in the city.

In Mandaue, Glenn Antigua, chief for operations of the Traffic Enforcement Agency of Mandaue (Team), said only 15 to 20 percent of public transportation was affected by the strike.

As early as 5 a.m., the Mandaue City Government ferried passengers mostly to the Ayala terminal and to Foodland on A. S. Fortuna St.

Mayor Luigi Quisumbing said 12 city vehicles and five Ceres buses also transported passengers to their destinations.

“Most of the major transport groups and associations chose not to participate in the strike, which is why the impact is very minimal,” the mayor said.

Different barangays in Mandaue also allowed their vehicles to run on interior roads to ferry their constituents.

“The single biggest problem that I have now is where to submit the gasoline bill. Hopefully, those that decided to strike will be willing to help with the payment of the gasoline for the stranded commuters,” Quisumbing said.

Antigua estimated that fewer than 500 passengers were stranded yesterday morning. However, they were eventually picked up by the City vehicles.

Protesters were seen on A. C. Cortes Ave. and near the Pacific Mall.

In Lapu-Lapu, Berame said the City deployed seven elf trucks and two city buses to transport more than 4,000 passengers to Mandaue and Cebu City.

We thank Piston for the protest rally that they held because we saw the convenience of using buses... In every crisis, we see an alternative convenience of the riding public," said Berame.

But not all jeepney drivers in Lapu-Lapu joined the strike.

Medello Soronio, 44, a jeepney driver from Barangay Bankal, said it is better to follow the law rather than put passengers at risk if drivers continue using their old jeepneys.

Sorinio has four children to support.