Bus operators set conditions for CSBT upgrade

CEBU, Philippines - Bus operators at the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) have finally agreed to the proposal of the provincial government to develop the facility into a multi-storey mixed-use complex.

However, Julieto Flores, president of the Cebu South Mini-Bus Operators Association, asked the Capitol to ensure that bus operators would not be displaced once the redevelopment starts.

Flores said they should still be allowed to help operate the terminal, with the Capitol and its private partners taking charge of the commercial aspect of the facility only.

He admitted that they were initially apprehensive on the redevelopment of the terminal because the facility might be fully privatized and higher or additional fees might be imposed.

“Di mi mosupak provided nga ini’g balik namo diha sa south bus kami gihapon ang magdala sa bus operations. Amo pud gusto nga mao gihapon ang mga bayrunon despite state-of-the-art na atong terminal,” he said in a phone interview with The FREEMAN.

At present, a bus unit is charged P200 every time it enters the CSBT and P150 for mini-bus. Private vehicles and taxis entering the terminal are also asked to pay P10.

No other fees are being collected from them, Flores added.

 CSBT houses more than 200 buses and mini-buses on regular days. It is owned by the Cebu provincial government and sits on a 9,000-meter square lot.

Once the development starts, Flores said they would have to move to the Cebu Auto Bus, a private one-hectare compound located at N. Bacalso Avenue, as their temporary terminal.

Last Friday, bus operators and Cebu Provincial Bus Operators Association had a closed-door meeting with the CSBT management and Capitol’s Investment and Promotions Office, in which the proposal of Toyo University in Japan for the terminal was taken up.

The facility is eyed to be transformed into a mixed-use development: a bus terminal in the ground floor, a shopping mall in the second floor and a hotel or condominiums in the next floors. It would be undertaken through a public-private partnership scheme.

Cebu Governor Hilario Davide III, however, made it clear that everything is not yet final and that the project would still undergo a tedious process.

He added that the facility will remain in its current location at N. Bacalso. — (FREEMAN)