THE Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 will open the bidding for 20 buses to operate under the Interim Bus Augmentation Service (Ibas) on Friday, March 6, 2020.
The Ibas is set to go on full swing on Sunday, March 15, plying the South Road Properties (SRP)-Fuente Osmeña Circle route, which is the first phase of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in the city.
Tugade’s promise
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade had made a promise to Presidential Assistant for the Visayas Michael Lloyd Dino to implement Ibas during his visit to Cebu City last Feb. 22. The BRT is also part of the Integrated Intermodal Transport System in Metro Cebu.
LTFRB 7 Director Eduardo Montealto Jr. said his office will start accepting bids from transport operators at 10 a.m. Friday. His office will stop accepting bids at 1 p.m. on the same day.
He said the transport operators must have buses that are 11-13 meters long and have seats for 38-52 passengers.
The winning bidder will be announced on Tuesday, March 10, said Montealto.
The Ibas terminal is located at SM Seaside City Cebu at the SRP.
Routes
The LTFRB 7 had already set the routes and stops for the buses.
After the bus exits the SM Seaside City Cebu terminal, its first stop is Citi de Mare. Then the bus makes a turn under the bridge that connects the cities of Talisay and Cebu. Its next stop is Il Corso, still at SRP, before the bus makes a turn under the SRP bridge towards Barangay Mambaling.
The other stops are located along N. Bacalso Ave. These are situated in front of the buildings of the Nature’s Spring Mambaling Branch, KCC Tire World Corp., Asia Glass Palace and Cebu South Bus Terminal.
The bus turns left towards Osmeña Blvd. The stops along this stretch are located outside the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas-Cebu office and Bradford United Church of Christ. When it goes to the Fuente Osmeña roundabout, its stop is located outside the EastWest Bank.
To return to SM Seaside City Cebu, the bus will travel along Osmeña Blvd again. The stop is outside Abellana National School.
The bus turns right towards N. Bacalso Ave. The next stops are near Phoenix gasoline station, Dr. Uy Medical Clinic on Tres de Abril St., Salazar Institute of Technology and Cebu Institute of Technology-University.
After the bus turns left under the Mambaling overpass, its final stop is the Phoenix gasoline station on F. Vestil St. before reaching SM Seaside City Cebu.
Special permit
Montealto said he will issue a special permit to the winning operator so it can deploy the buses on March 15. The LTFRB 7 could not yet give the fare matrix as the agency and the winning operator would still have to meet and negotiate, and a memorandum circular must be issued first before the fare can be implemented.( HBL / KAL )