RISING petroleum costs have prompted regional bus operators to adjust trip dispatching strategies and petition the city government for a 50 percent reduction in departure fees, as the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal (DCott) balances passenger safety repairs with modernization plans.
Speaking at the Davao Peace and Security Press Corps media briefing at The Royal Mandaya Hotel on Wednesday, September 23, DCott Manager Aisa Usop confirmed that they have received a letter from the Southern Mindanao Bus Operators Association requesting to slash the standard ₱200 trip ticket fee down to ₱100 per departure.
Usop explained that because terminal departure rates are codified under Ordinance 110 — the primary municipal legislation that established and governs the official operations of DCott — and the Davao City Revenue Code ordinance, lowering the fee is a lengthy legislative process that cannot be granted administrative approval alone.
"Wen it comes sa atoang mga amount, kung ano ang nasa under sa tax revenue code ordinance, so we cannot easily nga pwede nato nga ma-grant dayon ang request without amending that city ordinance (When it comes to amounts under the tax revenue code ordinance, we cannot easily grant the request without amending the city ordinance)," Usop said. "Mura'g taas-taas pa gyud siya nga kanang proseso... we still need to study that and conduct some consultative meetings (It is a long process... we still need to study that and conduct consultative meetings), the terminal manager added.
Usop said that DCott must weigh the petition against its mandate as a municipal income-generating office with strict revenue targets, while noting that granting discounts to large bus operators could prompt similar appeals from satellite van terminals under city supervision.
The economic pressure has also altered how bus lines manage the terminal's mandated dispatch intervals — 30 minutes for large buses and 45 minutes for smaller operators.
To avoid running partially empty trips, some companies hold vehicles outside the facility and deploy off-site controllers and canvassers to consolidate passenger volume before entering terminal bays.
"Instead pud nga musulod diha sa terminal, ilaha sa gibana-bana because they have their own controllers and canvassers, paabuton usa pud nga mudaghan ang pasahero (Instead of entering the terminal right away, they estimate passenger flow because they have their own controllers and canvassers, waiting for passenger numbers to build up first)," Usop noted. “Affected gihapon ta sa atuang management... affected pud ang ilahang manpower, the drivers, mga conductors, ang nag-inspection along the route (Our management is still affected, and their manpower—drivers, conductors, and route inspectors — is also affected),” she added.
Following security and operational directives from the City Transport and Traffic Management Office, DCott is preparing to expand passenger entrance gates and install new baggage scanner machines to boost security implementation.
Usop clarified that while the city government plans to construct three satellite bus terminals interlinking provincial traffic with the upcoming Davao Public Transport Modernization Project, the main Ecoland terminal requires immediate maintenance until final implementation timelines and funding for the new hubs are established.
