THE social distancing required to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) is taking a toll on commuters who rely on public transport. With this in mind, the Cebu City Government started deploying buses to cater to affected passengers Wednesday afternoon, March 18, 2020.
Mayor Edgardo Labella said 13 buses will allow the public free rides on select city roads from 6 to 10 a.m. and 5 to 9 p.m.
Some of these buses will serve business process outsourcing workers in the city for 24 hours.
The bus routes: from City Hall to Bulacao via N. Bacalso, P. Del Rosario, Imus, Tejero; City Hall to Bulacao via N. Bacalso, P. Del Rosario, Day-as, Sikatuna; City Hall to Bulacao via N. Bacalso, Junquera, Colon, Parian; City Hall to Cogon Pardo via Tagunol Road, C. Padilla, Colon, Parian; City Hall to Guadalupe via Osmeña Blvd; City Hall to Guadalupe via V. Rama; and City Hall to Inayawan via N. Bacalso.
Labella, however, maintained that “social distancing” will be observed on the bus, which has a capacity of 50, but will accommodate only 30 passengers.
For her part, Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia wants to tap bus operators to convey commuters impacted by strict measures on “social distancing” due to Covid-19.
In a news conference, Garcia said she is planning to raise the matter to major bus companies.
But before that, the governor will determine from which cities and towns under the province are the commuters most affected.
Garcia clarified that since independent cities like Cebu and Lapu-Lapu are not under the province, she does not intend to overstep her authority on Mayors Edgardo Labella and Junard Chan.
“We will gather data to determine how many buses we need to deploy,” Garcia said in a mix of English and Cebuano. (JJL / RTF)