“All buses must henceforth discharge all passengers at the terminal who will then have to be ferried by other transport modes to their final city destinations”
Last week, the City of Baguio released a statement it has awarded Magawide Construction Corporation the contract to develop the so-called world class Baguio City Integrated Bus Terminal which will cost P1.2-b.
This will be constructed in a five-hectare portion of the Bureau of Animal Industry along Marcos Highway.
One of the principal reasons for this project is to address the perennial city problem of traffic congestion.
From the available information released thus far by the city, buses entering the city from the South like Metro Manila will no longer be allowed to go to the downtown area of the city.
All buses must henceforth discharge all passengers at the terminal who will then have to be ferried as the news release stated by other transport modes to their final city destinations.
The other modes are actually still road-based transports which, in the strict sense of the word, is not another mode of transport.
The BCIBT will be able to accommodate 25,000 passengers a day and all the facilities in the terminal will all be up to international standards from toilets, waiting areas, parking and other service facilities like eateries and snack outlets. These are of course very good news to commuters who patronize public transportation because God knows the city is badly in need of a modern public transport terminal.
The current bus terminal for most of the bus companies going to the summer capital is no terminal at all but simply a bus stop where passengers are discharged and board using public road.
But whether in fact the BCIBT will finally decongest the city’s perennial traffic problem is something that needs further looking into.
This is not to say the new terminal project should not go thru because it should but the city must simply be more prepared to tackle the other traffic issues that will arise when the new terminal starts operation.
One of these for instance is the increase in vehicles using the Marcos Highway from the city to the new terminal.
Currently, most of the bus stations are all clustered together at the Gov Pack Road which is below the SM Mall on top of Session Road.
Other bus companies, however, like the Victory Liner and a couple of others have their own terminals scattered around the city.
With the city’s press statement, we assume these bus companies with separate stations must now also have to use the integrated terminal and stop using their own stations.
Of the three highways entering the city, only Marcos and Naguilian Roads are open to all types of vehicles.
The Kennon road is only open to light vehicles and is often closed to traffic especially during typhoons.
Marcos Highway even without the BCIBT is already congested as it is and this will worsen considerably when the new terminal will open.
This is because when all the bus passengers will be discharged at the terminal, all the passengers will then have to take another ride to go to their final destinations. They will have to take jeepneys, taxis or be picked up by private vehicles and since all these vehicles have smaller carrying capacities than the buses, the number of vehicles using Marcos highway will actually double if not triple which will worsen congestion.
What about the buses using Naguilian Road coming from the northern provinces of Region1?
Will these buses still be allowed to enter the city?
The press release did not say.
There was also nothing said about buses coming from Nueva Viscaya using the Ambuklao Road or those using Halsema Road entering the City.
Will it be business as usual for them and will not be affected by the BCIBT? Besides, it’s also probably going to be difficult to prohibit all of them from entering the city after discharging passengers at the BCIBT because these buses have depots inside the city proper being used for overnight parking unless the terminal has such facilities.
Anyway, given that the city has no dedicated office handling public transportation and traffic which has become more complicated, now is probably the right time to establish one to better prepare for the terminal when it starts operation.
