Four 37-seater buses of the Southern Star Bus Transit, Inc. from Cebu have been deployed to Bohol to serve the Tagbilaran City-Panglao route ahead of the opening of the New Bohol Panglao Airport, said an SSBTI official.
Efren Balinas, branch manager of SSBTI, told the Chronicle that the four units started to temporarily ply the regular Tagbilaran-Panglao route but these, along with four other buses, will soon cater to passengers at the new international airport after the facility’s opening later this month.
The four air-conditioned buses started to operate on Friday with special permits issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) while awaiting the issuance of franchises for all of the eight units.
The special LTFRB permits are valid until December 31.
“Naa tay’ walo para sa airport. Ang franchise gi-process na karon…So waiting ra na na ma-open ang airport. So for the meantime na wa pay biyahe ang airport, ato sa ng gipatabang ang [upat] para diha sa mga mulupyo, aron makabiyahe,” he said.
The first trip for the new buses from Tagbilaran City is at 5:45 a.m. while the succeeding trips leave every 45 minutes until 6 p.m.
“Ug gikan sa Tagbilaran, based sa schedule, naa na sa mga 20 to 24 trips…mga 48 na tanan, balik balik,” said Balinas.
Meanwhile, the older yellow SSBTI buses will continue their Tagbilaran-Panglao trips.
However, all of the buses will still ply the interior road in Panglao, not the island’s circumferential road. (R. Tutas)