Friday, December 08, 2006 Roperos: One Citilink Terminal By Godofredo M. Roperos Politics Also
AFTER serving the city’s out-of-town transport needs for almost two years now, One Citilink Terminal located near the heart of the city appears to be settling down.
Initially, there was loud outcry from smaller terminals in various parts of the city. The protesters harped against the efforts to “centralize” the parking areas of external land carriers.
It was long-drawn conflict, with Citilink enjoying the upper hand since it has the traffic enforcers of City Hall behind it. V-hires, which picked passengers in unlicensed terminals, were on the run and playing hide-and-seek with enforcers.
The Cebu City Government, which was seen as favoring the owner/owners of Citilink, came out as a tyrannical and fearsome ogre looking like Mayor Tom.
Truth to tell, I was one of those who opposed the move of the city to centralize the transport terminal for jeepneys, minibuses and V-hires serving out-of-town passengers.
I saw it as an effort of enterprising individuals close to the “powers-that-be” in the city to monopolize terminal fees, especially from V-hires that serve the central west coast.
I talked with a retired public official one evening while waiting for the V-hire to fill up with passengers. He said that it is only now that he understands what One Citilink means.
The whole idea appears apparent now to the public, he added. People now know where to go if they want to travel out of town. Citilink is near the bus terminal operated by the Provincial Government.
Actually, Citilink has set up a service-oriented management that is providing free shuttle vehicles. Passengers get a ride in and out of the terminal to areas in the city where they can disembark or get a ride to the terminal.
While the service reportedly cost Citilink an average of P10,000 a day, management enjoys the goodwill that it is generating. At the same time, the setup is giving work to a number of daily wage earners in the city.
Citilink employs a number of dispatchers for the V-hires and minibuses that come in and out of the Citilink daily. The vehicles are loaded with commuters from as far as Argao in the southeast, Danao City in the northeast, Toledo City in the west coast, and Balamban to Tuburan in the northwest.
In fact, the number of V-hire vehicles plying the Cebu City-Balamban route used to be only 18 about two years ago. Now it is believed to be more than 50, all members of a coop that also collects membership fees and schedule their trips.
Whatever the Citilink is earning at the moment in terms of profit from the fees it is collecting from the vehicles that uses it—P100 I think per departure—the fact remains that it is doing service to the city in centralizing the transport needs of the city commuters.
And for the Asean summit, I learned that Citilink is housing some 300 out-of-town police officers that are here to assist the city during the Asean summit. And I heard that their accommodation is costing the city nothing. But there should be a quid pro quo relationship.
At any rate, like the Ayala Business Park, the north and south reclamation areas and the most recent imbroglio over the Cebu International Convention Center, people always initially resist change. Then they settle down and relax to enjoy the bountiful benefits.
