DAVAO CITY (MindaNews / 16 Oct) — The city government of Davao expects around 80,000 passengers per day to converge at the already overcrowded Davao City Overland Transport Terminal (DCOTT) at least a week before All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day.
During the iSpeak Media Forum held on Thursday, DCOTT manager Aisa Usop said that they are anticipating an influx of passengers traveling back to their hometowns for “Undas,” a Filipino tradition in which families visit cemeteries to remember departed loved ones on Nov. 1-2.
She said that on regular days, the number of passengers at the city’s lone 24/7 bus terminal averages around 35,000.
To accommodate the surge in passengers, Usop stated that bus operators will increase daily bus trips to 1,500 from the current 800.
There are 21 bus companies with permits from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB)-Davao to deploy buses from this city, and many of them are expected to apply for special permits to allow them to deploy additional fleets during this season, according to Usop.
The major bus companies operating in the terminal are the Bachelor Express, Yellow Bus Line Inc., LCI Bus Line, ACF Bus Lines, Holy Infant Tours, Mindanao Star, and the Davao Metro Shuttle.
She added that personnel of Task Force Davao will implement stricter security measures, particularly at the entrance gate, while surprise drug tests will be conducted on bus drivers and conductors.
Usop reminded the bus operators that the “no pick-up policy” remains in effect in the city, meaning buses are prohibited from picking up passengers outside the bus terminal.
Usop assured Dabawenyos of their safety, noting that the entire bus terminal is under monitoring by security personnel through 32 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras installed throughout the 1.7-hectare facility.
The local government plans to establish additional bus terminals in Toril, Calinan, and Bunawan to decongest the city’s aging lone bus terminal, but the project is not yet funded, she said.
“The bus terminal was constructed in 1984, when Davao’s population was still small and there were only a few passengers and buses compared to today,” she said. (Antonio L. Colina IV / MindaNews)
