I had initially decided that after taking my Diploma Course in Urban and Regional Planning I will be focusing on transport planning in order to improve the experience of the daily commuting public and to also encourage proper road sharing and management. I can say that today’s situation here in Iloilo City is to do an overhaul of the public transport system. In that relation, every time I travel to other places here in the Philippines or abroad I observe their public transport and gauge its effectiveness. For today’s blog post, I am sharing one of my experiences during my Cebu trip last January. I will break down the topics into the type of public transport and share my personal rating or something similar to that. To start with:
MyBus Airport to SM City and Vice-versa
The MyBus transit situated in the arrival area parking of the Mactan International Airport is one of the cheap ways to get to Cebu city and can accommodate mostly passengers with hand carry baggage. It also has an area for large luggage. I would personally recommend it if you are not rushing to get to your destination as they have a fixed time of departure. The good thing is if, after landing, you can immediately get to the bus before that time.
From the SM City Cebu drop-off point, you can take a taxi to go to the hotel or ride in one of the jeepneys passing by. There are other MyBus routes from that point, such as going to SM City Seaside and to Talisay City.
Cebu City Jeepneys
Jeepney routes in Cebu follow a set of number codes which is at first hard to memorize since I am used to the landmark names that the Iloilo City Jeepneys use. They can be spotted in the front window and printed along the side of the jeepney. What I noticed is that those jeepneys that usually have short routes are smaller in terms of size and capacity whereas those that travel in between cities are larger and longer. My remedy here is to use Google Maps as they provide the right jeepney code to ride in order to reach my destination. The regular fare for these short routes is only seven pesos.
Habal Habal Motorcycles
My first single or Habal habal ride was going to the Temple of Leah which was my first stop after arriving in Cebu. I had previously read in the reviews that you can deal with the rider to take you there on a round trip. Since I am a lone traveler at that time, this would be my only option to get to the temple. My second ride was during the rush hour wherein I needed to get to the local game store on time but all of the jeepneys were mostly full and so are the taxis. I was across JY Square in Lahug at that time and it was a major arterial road that connects the north to the south of Cebu. That ride took just ten to fifteen minutes and cost around 50 pesos.
I have noticed that there are a lot of Habal-habal drivers in the downtown and other areas such as malls and tourist spots where they usually occupy a small part of the road or sidewalk for their parking area. Maybe that is because of Cebu’s topography of high elevation which riding a tricycle would be very difficult.
Overall, it was an okay experience commuting to Cebu. The traffic jam was expected especially since it was one week before their Sinulog festival as people are preparing for this yearly festivity. Of course, Cebu has more population than Iloilo and so at regular days, it is mostly moderate to slow-moving traffic flow on major roads. I would really recommend here to have a P2P bus system from the airport up to SM City or any transport terminal accessible. In this way, people have more choices in the modes of transport and buses can surely accommodate a high number of passengers at a cheaper fixed fare and without having to spend money on airport taxis.
Until the next blog post.
