IT PARK TO HAVE BPO BUS TERMINAL

Capitol, Cebu City Hall join hands in plan to design transportation system that will ensure the safety of call center agents

To ensure the safety of call center agents, the Cebu Provincial Government has allowed the Cebu City Government to use a portion of their lot in IT Park as a bus terminal for business process outsourcing (BPO) workers.

In a Facebook post dated Oct. 6, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that starting in Barangay Mabolo, a small bus system will fetch BPO workers from pickup points and shuttle them to and from work.

“Clearing operations have already begun in both the Province and Cebu City’s properties. Thank you very much to Governor Davide for helping keep our BPO workers safe,” Osmeña wrote.

“If you work in IT Park, you will also be able to park your motorcycle in these lots with a shuttle to transport you to your place of work. You can save a little money by not having to pay high parking,” he said.

The transportation plan is an offshoot of the recent slay of a 37-year-old call center agent after fighting off robbers in Mabolo.

There are no details yet on how the system will operate, how many it can accommodate and payment terms, as of press time.

The mayor met with representatives from various BPO companies to discuss safety and security of call center agents.

Osmeña also wants to create a volunteer neighborhood watch that will escort those who work at night.

He plans to tap habal-habal drivers and support them with gears and fuel.

“In a way, volunteers local to the area can be even more effective than traditional methods of law enforcement because they are native to the territory,” Osmeña said.

There will also be widespread installation of closed-circuit television cameras on streets to act as a deterrent of potential crime and to monitor incidents. /

The transportation plan is an offshoot of the recent slay of a 37-year-old call center agent after fighting off robbers in Mabolo.