THE City Transport and Traffic Management Office (CTTMO) has established a more advanced monitoring system, in partnership with bus companies, to easily dispatch buses once there is a reported stranding of passengers on the streets.
CTTMO head Dionisio Abude, in an interview with the Davao City Disaster Radio on Tuesday, January 24 said that they placed more ground monitors and inspectors and also had an agreement with bus companies to extend or add additional buses should the need arise.
“Close monitoring na gyud ta ani kay siyempre naa nata’y experience. Kabalo naman ta na dapat naay additional so advance na ang atong coordination sa atong inspector on the ground and sa atong monitoring sa bus operators kay naa man silay dedicated focal person para mag-monitor kung pwede makarequest og additional (We are conducting close monitoring since we already have an experience. We know that there have to be additional buses so we have advanced coordination with our inspectors on the ground and we have this monitoring with the bus operators since they have focal persons who will monitor if additional buses can be requested),” Abude said.
He said that with the ground monitors, an influx of passengers can be reported immediately. CTTMO also agreed with bus operators that once they notice stranded passengers and it is already their last bus schedule, they will make a call to add more buses.
He said that on the eve of January 23, two buses were dispatched due to reports of stranding of passengers.
Abude said that buses deployed by the operators are also being monitored by inspectors on the ground. The inspectors use a monitoring sheet that indicates the date, time of departure, bus company, plate number, origin, destination, and number of passengers.
He said that the monitoring tool will be able to help them assess the volume of passengers on the routes and it will become the basis for the improvement of Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service (Phabs) operation.
On December 20, 2022 the Phabs operation resumed after the city provided fuel subsidies to bus operators.
Abude said that they are set to meet with the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) soon to finalize the date of effectivity of Phabs. Phabs was initially created last year for the period of December 2022-January 2023 as part of the initiative to provide an additional mode of transportation, especially during the holiday season.
The routes for Phabs can be accessed here: bit.ly/phabsbusroutes. DAVAO CIO