THE DAVAO City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT) management is “hopeful” the city’s plan to construct two new bus terminals in the north and south will push through.
DCOTT manager Aisa Usop told reporters that a technical working group is already on it, although she did not provide further details. The planned sites are in Toril in the south and Buhangin in the north.
“Hopefully, because our terminal now is already congested considering the area is only 1.7 hectares,” Usop said.
She added the DCOTT in Ecoland is outdated given it was constructed in 1984 when only a few bus units operated.
“Compared today, the terminal accommodates a lot of bus units and, in terms of size, the units today are larger than the units before,” she added.
In 2020, the management pushed for the immediate construction of two bus terminals, one each in the northern and southern areas, as the existing facility Ecoland is already beyond its capacity and the number of provincial buses continues to increase.
Usop said the average bus trips daily range from 700 to 800 on regular days, which increase from 1,000 to 1,500, servicing 50,000-80,000 passengers.
DCOTT continues to coordinate with Task Force Davao, DCPO, and Civil Security Unit to ensure security inside the terminal premises. Presently, there are 32 functioning CCTV cameras and an in-house K-9 team.
She stressed that only DCOTT in Ecoland is authorized to load and unload passengers from provincial buses under City Ordinance No. 110.
