Capitol eyes PPP for bus terminal

CEBU, Philippines - The Cebu provincial government is looking into the possibility of letting a private entity operate and maintain the Cebu South Bus Terminal, located along N. Bacalso Avenue in Cebu City.

This as the technical support group of the Provincial Economic Enterprise Council (EEC) recommended a public-private partnership scheme for the operation of the CSBT during its meeting on Wednesday at the Capitol.

However, Governor Hilario Davide III, who chairs the EEC, said that the recommendation of the technical group has yet to be presented and discussed before the EEC. 

But he supported the idea of establishing a PPP arrangement for the terminal, a property owned by the provincial government, believing that the scheme would help improve the facilities and address traffic concerns inside the terminal, especially during peak seasons and rush hours.

“Aron di maglabad ang ulo sa probinsya, liman ka anang magproblema ta sa mga pasahero during rush hours. Aron pud di ta magproblema asa manghuwam og bus, or magkagubot diha,” he told reporters.

He added that once the recommendation is implemented, the operation of the terminal will be undertaken by the private partner while the province will receive shares from the terminal’s income.

At present, the CSBT is manned by the provincial government with 27 blue guards for the three shifts. During peak seasons, the terminal implements a traffic scheme by putting up railings and signage to sort out passengers going to various destinations.

In case of bus shortage, the terminal management usually requests the Capitol and local government units to lend their “Suroy-Suroy” buses.

Currently, the terminal has 285 buses to ferry passengers on regular days.

Passengers would wait for their turn to board the bus either under the tents mounted outside or at the waiting lounge supported only by electric fans since its air-conditioner units had bogged down.

The Provincial General Services Office also plans to upgrade the facilities at the province-owned terminal, including the conversion of its single-phase transformer into a three-phase system to allow all air conditioner units to fully operate.  (FREEMAN)