PASSENGER terminals never ran out of public utility vehicles during the All Saints’ Day rush because the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) issued almost 100 special permits for out-of-line operations.

These permits went to jeepneys, Garage-to-Terminal (GT) Express units and passenger buses plying routes in Metro Cebu and Cebu Province, said LTFRB 7 Director Romulo Ber-nardes.

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Meanwhile, some passengers tried seeking a dialogue yesterday with those in charge of the Cebu South Bus Terminal, as they endured long waits for bus rides home.

Special permits were issued at the LTFRB regional office, as well as at help desks stationed at the Cebu North Bus Terminal and the Cebu South Bus Terminal, Bernardes said.

Here’s how the permit works: If a driver of a jeepney, bus or GT sees several passengers waiting for a ride in a route outside the vehicle’s franchise area, for as long as no unit plying that route is available, the driver may apply for a special permit to ferry the passengers.

“Under this procedure, the passengers will be conveyed early to their destination, and the drivers and operators who are issued special permits can have extra income,” Bernardes said.

Assistant Director Edgar Catarongan of the Land Transportation Office (LTO) said the agency conducted Oplan Kalag-Kalag since Oct. 31 to assist passengers at the ports and bus terminals.

Illegal

LTO 7 Director Raul Aguilos said that except for a complaint against an illegal terminal operation in front of the Cebu South Bus Terminal, which they immediately acted upon, the agency received no other report.

“This year’s celebration was relatively calm and peaceful, especially in the major thoroughfares and terminals. It was only last Friday and Saturday that people converged in bus terminals,” Aguilos said. Yesterday, “it was calm and quiet.”

Director Glenn Ca-bañez of the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) 7 said three clusters were created to oversee land, sea and air transportation during the peak travel season.

He chairs the Department of Transportation and Communication-Regional Management Council (DOTC-RMC) Oplan Kaluluwa.

Assistance

“We have created help desks in passenger terminals, airport and seaports so travelers can approach them for assistance,” Cabañez said.

Meanwhile, a radio dyAB report said that Cebu south-bound passengers hoping for a bus ride home complained about being made to wait outside the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT), some of them waiting as early as 5 a.m.

One security guard of the terminal told a radio reporter that while the crowd grew thicker, Capitol consultant Byron Garcia was allegedly sleeping inside his office.

The guard alleged that the Capitol consultant for security, who also takes charge of the CSBT, was napping after organizing the terminal’s security last Saturday.

Garcia, in a phone interview, denied the allegation, saying it was propaganda from disgruntled passengers waiting outside the CSBT.

“If that allegation came from someone inside the terminal during that time, then he must be wrong, because I was even jesting with some of the passengers at that time,” said Garcia.

Garcia explained that before the buses arrive at the terminal, even if enough passengers are waiting for them, the management automatically bars the entrance to keep passengers from spilling into the parking bays.

700 passengers

The CSBT can accommodate about 700 passengers, said Garcia.

The procedure was arranged with the Land Transportation Office (LTO) 7 as a way to prevent any untoward incidents.

Had he let his guard down and allowed passengers into the parking bays, a stampede would have ensued, Garcia said.

Should disgruntled passengers remain hardheaded, Garcia said he will just keep doing his job, as “majority of passengers” are happy with the new terminal procedures.

“If they would cry that I was sleeping on the job, then I don’t care,” said Garcia.