If air travel is not an option for you in going to the southern Philippines, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have launched a new bus route from the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) to Davao City in Mindanao, with one-way fares at P3,680.
There's now a cheaper and more scenic option when traveling to Davao City
The service was launched on Wednesday at the PITX with various government officials in attendance. Among them were DOTr Undersecretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Atty. Mark Steven Pastor, LTFRB Chairman Atty. Martin Delgra III, LTFRB Region XI Director Nonito Llanos II, and PITX Head of Corporate Affairs and Government Relations Jason Salvador.
Part of the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), a total of 10 modern public utility buses (PUBs) of the Davao Metro Shuttle Corporation (DMS) will be fielded to provide direct trips between PITX and Davao City, passing through Candelaria, Quezon. These units are equipped with self-levelling leather seats with USB ports, a restroom at the rear of the bus, and run on Euro 5-compliant diesel engines.
Several government officials atteended the inaguration ceremony
The fare includes two ferry rides on RoRo (roll-on/roll-off) vessels for inter-island travel. Travel time along the 1,500-kilometer route is three days and two nights. Several stops have been designated before reaching Davao City, including:
- Turbina/Sto.Tomas/Laguna
- Quirino Meal Place
- Naga Terminal
- Sorsogon/Matnog
- Allen/Samar
- Tacloban
- Sogod/Southern Leyte
- Liloan
- Surigao
- Kitcharao
- Butuan
- San Francisco
- Monkayo
- Tagum
DMS offered a 50 percent discount on the fare or Php 1,840 for the maiden trip, which left at 2:00 p.m. on opening day with a single passenger on board. Daily departures are scheduled at 2:30 p.m. daily from Gate 4 at the PITX ground floor. Meanwhile, trips from Davao City to PITX will commence on June 20.
According to LTFRB Executive Director Tina Cassion, there are people who still prefer to travel by bus, especially with the freight. “Yung meron kasing capability din yung bus sa ilalim niya, they can carry more than what is being carried doon sa mga airlines dahil mas mahal yung fee,” she said.
The service will use modern buses equipped for long-distance travel
(Buses have the capability to carry more cargo underneath than what is being carried on airlines, which charge higher fees)
The lone passenger who took the first trip, Gerry Cainglet, said he wanted to save on costs, since a flight to Davao typically ranges from Php 8,000 to Php 10,000.
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