IF YOU’RE from Sibonga or Carcar City and plan to travel there by bus, you might want to choose the Alowee Minibus at the Cebu South Bus Terminal.
Aside from getting a comfortable bus ride, you might just get a free ride if you get a score of 100 in the bus’ videoke machine.
Jerry Sentillas, the driver of the bus, said that of the four mini buses owned by his employer, only his has a videoke machine.
He started to let his passengers use the videoke machine a few years ago when he felt that his trips to and from southern Cebu were becoming rather boring.
“To make the trip more enjoyable, I had the machine installed. When boredom strikes, we all just sing our hearts out,” Sentillas said in Bisaya.
The cure for his boredom became a hit among his passengers when he started to let them join in the fun of videoke singing to pass the time.
“We just want to be different. We also want to give our passengers something to enjoy and let them use it if they want to,” he said.
Sentillas said he would even offer a free ride to anyone who could get a score of 100.
“We’ve long offered this added service. We’ve given free rides to a lot of passengers,” Sentillas said.
When he first started the gimmick, only a few passengers would sing.
Eventually, more passengers would take turns singing, some of whom would do it just to get a free ride to the city.
But even after getting a score of 100, some would still pay the full fare, saying that they’re only after the fun in singing.
Not everyone who takes on the challenge, though, are gifted singers. “There are some who are off key but who cares? Everyone is having fun,” Sentillas said.
With more people going home for All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, he expects his trips in the coming days to be more exciting.