DAVAO ORIENTAL – The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Region XI has recently announced the schedule of trips and identified routes from Davao City to Davao Oriental as the province is set to open up its borders for private and public vehicles on Monday, June 1.

LTFRB Regional Director Atty. Armand Dioso who met with the members of the Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 together with bus operators and the municipal and city police chiefs on Friday explained the schedules of the trips as well as the guidelines.

Based on the LTFRB guidelines, there will only be one bus trip for each route per day. For buses coming from Davao City, entry at the provincial borders are only allowed from Monday to Friday, 9 o’clock in the morning to 4 o’clock in the afternoon. Limited trips are being imposed in order to regulate the movement of the people and lessen the people’s chances of exposure to the dreaded coronavirus disease.

For Davao Oriental, the LTFRB XI has assigned three routes with identified stops or drop-off points. These routes are Davao City to the municipality of Governor Generoso, Davao City to the municipality of Caraga, and Davao City to the municipality of Boston. “So, there will be a total of six trips – three routes from Davao City going to Davao Oriental and three from Davao Oriental going to Davao City,” said Atty. Dioso.

He said bus trips from Davao City going to Davao Oriental will only stop at designated terminals and there will be strictly no picking-up or dropping-off of passengers other than at the designated drop-off points.

Commuters are reminded to bring their Identification Cards and fill-out their embarkation form. The embarkation form is provided at the bus terminals or can be downloaded online.

“No other document will be required from the commuters except for the embarkation form and a valid ID,” said Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 Action Officer Dr. Reden Bersaldo, noting that the embarkation form is an important tool for contact-tracing in case infected individuals will be able to enter the province.

Meanwhile, as commuters are expected to flood the Davao City Overland Transport Terminal on Monday, Atty. Dioso advised the public to communicate first with the bus company, if possible, through hotlines set to be placed. In the case of Davao City to Davao Oriental trips, it will be the Bachelor Express bus company which will operate.

He said that aside from the limited trips, the national guidance requires buses to operate under 50 percent capacity, which means only 22-25 passengers will be accommodated in large buses. “So, once the bus is already fully-booked, those who were not able to depart on that day will automatically be booked on the following day.”

While the resumption of bus trips is especially intended for those people who are stranded in Davao City and other places in the region, commuters are advised not to travel if the nature of their travel is not essential.

Meanwhile, amidst the limited trips and the limited persons to be accommodated per trip, commuters will also be expecting an increase in the fare rates. Atty. Dioso said that the LTFRB has issued a provisional increase on the fare for Public Utility Vehicles which will range from 5-10% increase from the usual fare rate.

The LTRFB and the provincial government are asking for people’s patience on some inconvenience as policies are being imposed to protect the general public amidst the threat of the coronavirus disease.

With the province’s impending shift to Modified General Community Quarantine, the Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 hopes that more bus routes will be opened soon which will also lessen the burden of the commuters.

Provincial Task Force on COVID-19 Action Officer Dr. Bersaldo, who already briefed the chiefs of police of the province’s eleven LGUs on the procedural flow for the entry of private and public vehicles, also called on to the commuters to follow the guidelines set and cooperate with the authorities. By KLD-PIO

Check the images below for the procedural flow for passengers using Public Vehicles: