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CEBU CITY, Philippines – The Ceres Bus Co. is extending operations from Cebu to at least two areas of Leyte starting June 15.
The bus company will be fielding two units to ply the Tacloban, Leyte-Cebu route while another unit will cover the Cebu-San Isidro route.
The three buses will be carried by a barge owned by Seattle Ferry at the ro-ro port in Pulangbato, Bogo City going to Palompon, Leyte.
“We will be competing with some shipping companies there, but it’s very practical for the passengers to just board our buses,” said Romulo Reyes, operations manager of the Ceres Bus Co.-Cebu branch.
Reyes cited cheaper fare and shorter travel time to the destinations in Leyte as reasons passengers prefer to ride buses.
He said fare for the Ceres bus from Cebu City to Tacloban is only P450, while shipping vessels collect P500.
For the Cebu-San Isidro, Leyte route, Ceres collects P300 while shipping vessels fare is P330.
Travel time is also shorter if a passenger takes the bus to the Leyte destinations. He said that Ceres Bus travels 7 hours and 30 minutes from Cebu to Tacloban, while travel time for ships is at 8 hours and 15 minutes.
For San Isidro, the travel time is 6 hours and 30 minutes compared to 7 hours for shipping vessels.
Reyes said the buses for Tacloban leave at 6 a.m. and 6:15 a.m., while the San Isidro bus leaves at 5:45 a.m. everyday.
The three buses will catch the 9 a.m. barge from Pulangbato going to Palompon, Leyte.
Passengers from Tacloban to Cebu City will have to board at 9:15 a.m. and 9:45 a.m. schedules and 11 a.m. from San Isidro, so they could catch the barge at 1 p.m. from Palompon.
Reyes said the new units supplement a fleet of 179 units already operating in Cebu.
Reyes said they have an approved franchise from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB).
Asked why they opened new routes, Reyes said the company realized that most of their passengers going to the north are actually bound for Tacloban and San Isidro, Leyte.
“If the feedback will be positive, we will be deploying more units in these routes,” he said.
Reyes said most passengers are businessmen and students.
