North Bus Terminal dev't study to start tomorrow

CEBU, Philippines - A four-month study for the systems improvement of the Cebu North Bus Terminal (NBT) will commence tomorrow, which is to be a first major attempt to develop the NBT about 17 years after it was established.

The NBT Management Committee signed yesterday the contract with a team of consultants headed by Engr. Pedro Adonis Compendio that will conduct the study on how the system inside the NBT can be improved and how it can generate more income in the future.

The study, to cost P300,000, shall be completed by the end of the year.

City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete, who sits as the chairman of the NBT Management Committee, said the study will focus more on the improvement of the facility for the convenience of the commuters, but will also include recommendations for revenue generation. Poblete said it is about time to improve the facility as the number of NBT’s clients is increasing yearly.

“It’s been about 17 years and we’ve observed that the city is growing as well as the transport industry. Yet we have not responded to the needs of the commuting public,” Poblete said.

He said the study shall come up with a viable recommendations and suggestions that will improve the terminal. He said recommendations may include infrastructure developments inside the facility, all to provide effective and efficient services for the Cebu-bound buses and their passengers.

The move was triggered by the clamor from the commuters for orderliness and a systematic flow of traffic inside the NBT during the last peak season.

The NBT, since 1995, has increased the number of its clients by about 150 percent.

Zosimo Jumao-as of the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Multi-purpose Cooperative, Inc. said they used to dispatch 100 units of buses in 1995, but it has now become 250 buses every day. Each bus has an average of 50 passengers. It is even higher during peak season.

Poblete said it will not hurt much if the NBT spends for a study since the improvement of the NBT will likely lead to more income like how it went with the South Bus Terminal.

The P300,000 budget for the study will be sourced from the proceeds of the NBT. It will be paid to the consultants through progress billing.

The consultants who will conduct the study are Compendio, Economic Development Specialist Avelino B. Corona, Senior Civil Engineer Ronie Z. Baco and Senior Architect Rufino S. Masapequeña. In general, the team consists of a transport specialist, a civil engineer, an architect, a land transport expert, a marketing and financial expert and an economic development planner.

Compendio said that terminals like the NBT should be undergoing evaluation and improvement study every 10 years. He said that although late, it is a good development that the Management Committee has decided to embark on it now.The study will be completed in four months, but an Interim Report will be submitted just before All Saints Day so there will be improvements in the system come the next peak season.

The NBT is under the management of the Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Multi-purpose Cooperative, Inc. who entered into a Memorandum of Agreement with the Cebu City Government for the operation and maintenance of the terminal.

The Cebu City Government is leasing the property from its owner, the Mandaue City Government.    - THE FREEMAN