Exciting times

DAVAO City Councilor Conrado Baluran bared on Wednesday that the city is expected to soon receive 45 buses for the pilot testing of the High Priority Bus System (HPBS) program.

To many of us commuters, this will be a welcome development but we have to make huge adjustments in our day to day commute.

On the bright side of things, we will not have to bend over and slowly navigate our way to our seats inside the jeeps.

We will not have to squeeze with one another or sit on the edge of the bench when its nearly full.

You will not need to worry of getting too sweaty as these will be airconditioned.

In a way we will need to adjust in some areas. Unlike jeepneys where we can just holler to the driver to stop where we need to get down to, buses will have bus stops thay may be a few meters away from your usual destination.

One also has to expect that the cost of public transport will likely increase as these investments are not cheap.

However, it will be a different story for some jeepney drivers as some of them may lose their jobs or their routes will be altered when the city’s HPBS program materializes.

Therefore, one of the crucial parts of this program is how to ensure that those who will be affected will still be able to feed their families.

It has been reported that a social package program will be offered to affected individuals. No specific details have been provided yet.

The city government unit of Davao needs to strike a balance when it comes to the social aspect of the program -ensuring that the general welfare of the commuters are addressed and at the same time the welfare of current public transport drivers and operators too.

Indeed, these are exciting times for most of us. As the city grows, commuters will need an efficient and more comfortable public transportation.