Commuters happy about bus service
THE City Government of Davao scored big with the deployment of airconned buses to provide free rides to the riding public as jeepney operators and drivers staged a transport strike to protest the "phase-out of jeepneys".
A total of 36 passenger buses were deployed by the Davao City Transport and Traffic Management Office in partnership with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board starting 5 a.m.
The 36 are made up of 12 Bachelor Express, 12 Metro Shuttle, 10 Mindanao Star, and 2 LCI buses, which were deployed to Toril, Calinan, Maa, Catalunan Grande in the South area and Lasang via Sasa & R. Castillo, Lasang via Catitipan, Buhangin and Agdao via Claro M. Recto for the north bound.
"Nakatabang-tabang pud sa among gastuhonon sa among transaction. Gikan pa ko sa Panabo padulong Maa, from Maa ko nisakay sa bus ug diri mi gi-drop,bisan daghan mi ug dasok-dasok at least nakabuhat mi sa among transaction. Salamat kay mayor (It really helped with our expenses. I came from Panabo and then went to Maa, and from there, I rode the bus from Maa and we were dropped here," Maria Teresa Callao said. Callao is thankful to Mayor Sara Z. DuterteCarpio for the free ride.
CTTMO head Dionisio
Abude in a phone interview with Sun.Star Davao yesterday said that from 20 percent who did not join the strike in the morning increased up to 65 percent at around 5:30 pm yesterday.
He deemed the deployment successful as there were very few stranded passengers monitored.
He said, the majority of the calls for information and assistance he received was in the morning since many of the riding public were still going to downtown areas.
There were those who opted to wait for passenger jeepneys are there were a few who continued to ply their route.
Eukarya Karima, a resident of Bucana, said she preferred waiting for a jeepney because she was more familiar with the routes the jeepneys take. She was waiting for a Cabaguo-bound jeep.
Kris Tinio from Toril, who had transaction here in the city waited for an hour in the loading area near Philippine National Bank fronting San Pedro church for a ride that will bring her at the Brokenshire Hospital.
"Humingi ako ng tulong sa traffic enforcer punuan pa rin, mahigit isang oras na akong naghintay masakit na ang ulo ko buti na lang hindi ako naatake, kasi kung naatake ako baka namatay na ako," Tinio said in an interview with Sun.Star Davao yesterday morning. KVC (For full story visit www.sunstar. com.ph/davao/)