Only 2 takers for 3 P2P routes

ONLY Vallacar Transit Corp. and SM City participated in the public bidding for the three Premium Point-to-Point (P2P) routes in Cebu last Friday, March 22.

Vallacar Transit operates Ceres Liner, while SM City operates MyBus.

Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said the routes are Cebu City to Sibonga, Cebu City to Danao City and Cebu City to Lapu-Lapu City.

The one-way fare for the first route is P300, while the fare for the second and third routes are P315 and P80, respectively.

A transport operator said that to justify the exhorbitant fares, the LTFRB made it appear that the Cebu City-Sibonga route is 71.1 kilometers, when is it only 50 kilometers; the Cebu City-Danao City is 78.8 kilometers, when it is only 32 kilometers; and the Cebu CityLapu-Lapu City is 20.5 kilometers, when it is only 13 kilometers.

Julito Flores, president of the Cebu Bus and Minibus Operators Multipurpose Cooperative, said the LTFRB Memorandum Circular 2019-010 was tailored for Ceres and MyBus.

He said the winner will have to deliver 25 percent of the required units within three months, 50 percent within six months and all the units within nine months.

The Cebu City-Sibonga and Cebu City-Danao City routes require 45 units each, while the Cebu City-Lapu-Lapu City route requires 20 units.

Flores said transport cooperative cannot afford the premium buses, which cost P5.5 million each.