Underpass off-limits to buses, mini buses

CEBU, Philippines — The Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) won’t allow buses and mini buses to access the underpass on N. Bacalso Avenue once it will be operational on June 15.

This as CCTO operations chief Francisco Ouano believes that buses and mini buses can contribute to traffic in the south district.

In an interview with The FREEMAN, Ouano said it is appropriate to let these vehicles use the Cebu South Coastal Road (CSCR) since they are not picking up passengers once they are already on the road. Usually, these vehicles get filled while parking at the terminal.

“Ang bus man gud sa akoang nahibaw-an point-to-point na siya, so rather than ipaagi sila dinha (underpass), adto nalang sila sa CSCR kay mo-contribute man sila og traffic. Point-to-point means gikan sa South Bus Terminal, kung asa sila padulong, adto sila. Dili sila pareha sa jeep nga anytime makahunong,” Ouano said.

The underpass project is designed to have two lanes, one each for southbound and northbound vehicles.

Ouano said they want to ensure that the flow of traffic in the south district will be smooth as much as possible to concur with the purpose of the construction of the new road infrastructure.

Since August 2017, buses and mini buses have been passing through CSCR due to the construction of the underpass on the main thoroughfare of N. Bacalso Avenue.

Ouano said public utility jeepneys (PUJs) can utilize the underpass as long as they would not pick up passengers along the lane.

“Kung puno ang mga jeep, pwede sila moagi sa underpass, pero kung wala’y pasahero ari lang sila sa side roads,” he said.

He said private vehicles are advised to pass through the underpass so that they will not jam-pack the side roads.

The smaller access routes are still available to traffic such as Tagunol Street, Caimito Street, Ganciang Street and F. Llamas Street.

Ouano said they will discuss these new traffic schemes in the south district with the Department of Public Works and Highways-7 within the week.

Earlier, they sent a letter to DPWH -7 regarding this matter but they have not received any response as of this writing.

“I-discuss ni nato sa ilaha (DPWH-7), then naa man sad naguba nga traffic lights, iapil nato kay ilaha manang tulubagon,” Ouano said.

CCTO will not hold a dry run once the new traffic schemes will be finalized since it observed that traffic flow was okay during the election period when the underpass was temporarily opened.

Further, Ouano is confident that the underpass project would definitely address the monstrous traffic in the south district.

“Yes, definitely ana ang mahitabo, inig kahuman gyud ana (underpass) diha ta makaingon nga dili na heavy ang traffic,” he said. (FREEMAN)