SOUTHBOUND passengers do not have to worry about waiting for their buses without shade from the heat or shelter from the rain.
To increase the capacity of the waiting lounge, the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) management has temporarily moved the stalls and concessionaires to the back portion of the terminal to accommodate more passengers.
CSBT officer-in-charge Carmen Quijano said the move helped increase the terminal lounge’s capacity to 1,500.
Aside from this, the CSBT management also prepared 200 seats at the back portion of the lounge to ensure that traffic flow of passengers would remain smooth.
Quijano said the terminal has been free of chaos since the implementation of the “no ticket, no entry” policy a month ago.
“Our passengers have already adjusted. The policy was really helpful, especially in keeping bystanders out of the terminal. Since last month, we’ve been receiving lost and found items. If not for the policy, these items would have been taken by people with bad intentions,” she said in a mix of Cebuano and English on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019.
Last Oct. 16, the Office of the Governor received a complaint from a university professor from Zamboanga who reported his bag missing. He said he last saw his bag, which contained several documents and a laptop, at the CSBT.
At the time, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia called for a meeting with the CSBT officials on how to maximize security measures at the facility as the incident involving the professor gave a “bad name” to the Capitol.
Among the points raised was to keep the facility free of non-passengers or people who have no business at the CSBT.
Part of the “no ticket, no entry” policy is the distribution of entry passes to passengers to keep them from crowding the ticketing booths at the entrance of the terminal.
On weekends, peak season or when the need arises, bus lines will issue an entry pass to keep passengers from crowding the entryway. Passengers with entry passes can proceed to the waiting area.
The issuance of tickets is done at the lounge, right before the passengers board the buses.
Once they have their tickets, the bus lines will get the entry passes.
To ensure that those with entry passes are real commuters, they would be told to stay in the waiting lounge. If a person is found inside the terminal without any intention of buying a bus ticket, he or she would be escorted out immediately.
Should the more than 5,000 passengers expected to pass through CSBT need more space while waiting for the buses, Quijano said the lounge at the neighboring Land Transportation Office 7 would open its doors for them.
In a related development, personnel of the Provincial Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Office will remain on standby from Dec. 23 to 26 in preparation for the holidays and the looming low pressure area. (RTF)