The City hall has identified the bus stops for the Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service (PHABS), which is intended to solve the lack of public transportation in the city during rush hour.
The City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) Chief Dionisio Abude bared that six buses will initially serve two areas — Toril and Catalunan Grande – during peak hours, 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and at 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.
For Toril, the designated bus stops will be at Toril District Hall, corner IWHA MacArthur Highway, Gulf View, Ulas Shell, UM Matina – Overpass, and Roxas Avenue for the morning peak hours.
In the afternoon peak hours, the bus stop will be at Roxas Avenue, Layby corner Rizal–Quezon Boulevard, Sandawa Pia’s Café, Ulas Coke Warehouse, corner Iwha MacArthur Highway, and Toril.
For the Catalunan Grande route, the morning peak hour route will be at Santiago Villas, Catalunan Grande Phoenix Gas Station, Matina GSIS, SM Ecoland, Barangay Hall-Almendras and Roxas Avenue.
For the afternoon peak hour route, it will traverse from Roxas Avenue, Bankerohan, Malayan College, Bangkal near Convenience Store, San Isidro Labrador Church, and Santiago Villas until Elenita Heights.
During yesterday’s I-Speak forum, Abude said the buses are set to have a 12-minute approximate interval time.
While it was earlier reported that they are aiming to have the same fare rate with the passenger jeepney, Abude did not reveal yet the minimum fare.
He said it will have a base fare for the first five kilometers and additional rate per kilometer.
But Abude hinted that the fare to Toril may be around P40.
As stated in the plan, a three-day survey was conducted and it was found out that hundreds of passengers were unserved during the peak hours. In one of the survey, there were around 900 passengers at Toril Shell gas station and another 1000 passengers at Caltex Toril unserved due to the lack of public utility vehicles.
“The buses are ready including the bus stops and the yellow boxes,” Abude added.
The CTTMO is just waiting for the special permit from the Land Transportation and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
