DUE to the number of stranded passengers affected by Typhoon Chedeng, the City Government of Davao Tuesday, March 19, augmented 15 buses.
The “Libreng Sakay” buses, stationed in front of Davao City Hall, transported passengers via routes going to Toril, Calinan, Bunawan, Buhangin and Catitipan, starting at 1 p.m.
Prior to the augmentation, schools in all levels were already suspended a day ahead, while Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio suspended the local government unit’s work in the afternoon to lessen the volume of people going home.
Davao City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) Dionisio Abude said that the decision to augment buses in the city was due to the lower operation of public utility vehicles.
“Our instruction to the bus companies is that they will be around as long as there are still passengers who are stranded. We do not have an exact time as to when the bus deployment will stop,” Abude said.
He added that passengers going to areas outside of Toril, Calinan, Bunawan, and Buhangin, a “sweeper” bus will also be deployed to ferry them home.
Free rides were also be provided to those from the outside designated routes.
The city government also distributed free “lugaw” for passengers waiting for them to be catered.
Abude clarified that the bus augmentation is different from the Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service that was initiated by the local government due to scarcity of public utility vehicles during peak hours in various locations in Davao City particularly in Toril and Catalunan Grande as identified by CTTMO.