A four-page memorandum circular signed by LTFRB chairman Martin Delgra was released on Friday, following the survey conducted by the Davao City Transportation and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) identifying Catalunan Grande and Toril routes as underserved.
The regular fare rate starts at P10 for the first five kilometers and additional P2.20 for every succeeding kilometer.
It said a letter dated February 13, 2019 was submitted by Assistant City Administrator Tristan Dwight P. Domingo recommending for the Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Services (PHABS) to address the growing need for public utility buses from 6:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. to and from Catalunan Grande and Toril.
Retired Supt. Dionisio C. Abude, the CTTMO head, said in an interview that a meeting was held with local bus companies on the plan of the city to pursue PHABS, among them Mindanao Star, Bachelor Express, LCI Buses, and Davao Metro Shuttle, amid the increasing demand for public transport services during peak hours.
He said the Mindanao Star, which offered free bus rides to Dabawenyos during Kadayawan sa Dabaw celebration in August 2018, has already committed at least eight units of the “low floor, low entry, or city type” buses to provide augmentation services. The rest will be provided by other local bus firms, he said.
Based on the LTFRB’s memorandum, the travel from Toril going to Roxas Avenue will have six bus stops: Toril District Hall, Corner Iwha MacArthur Highway, Gulf View (Gas station), Shell Station-Ulas, University of Mindanao (Matina footbridge), and Roxas Avenue. From Roxas Avenue going back to Toril, bus stops are Roxas Avenue, Layby Cor. Rizal-Quezon Boulevard (Merco), Sandawa Pias Café, Coke Warehouse in Ulas, Corner Iwha MacArthur Highway, and Toril.
For Catalunan Grande to Roxas Avenue, it will have nine bus stops: Elenita Heights, Santiago Villas, Sitio Awa, Barangay Hall of Catalunan Grande, Phoenix Gas Station, GSIS in Matina, SM Ecoland, Barangay Hall-Almendras, and Roxas Avenue. The travel from Roxas Avenue back to Catalunan Grande will have another nine bus stops: from Roxas Avenue, Mercury Drug in Bankerohan, Malayan College, Bangkal near Petron/Collado, San Isidro Labarador Church, Barangay Hall in Catalunan Grande, Sitio Awa, Santiago Villas, and Elenita Heights.
The City Government of Davao is also pushing for High Priority Bus System, which would replace the jeepney units in the city, to address the need for mass transit system and traffic congestion in the city. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
