In this file photo, provincial buses pass through the toll plaza of the North Luzon Expressway. Allowing provincial buses to reuse operations by June 22 is still up for discussion by the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Disease, according to Malacañang on Thursday, June 18, 2020. INQUIRER FILE/GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE
LAOAG CITY, Ilocos Norte––More bus trips from Northern Luzon provinces to Metro Manila and vice versa have reopened as quarantine restrictions were eased under the most lenient COVID-19 alert level in these areas.
Partas, one of the leading bus companies in Ilocos, announced on April 3 that it had increased its point-to-point trips from Cubao to Abra and vice versa, Laoag to Cubao and vice versa, and Cubao to Laoag via Vigan and Cubao to Vigan.
The trips are scheduled daily, according to the bus company.
Other bus companies, such as Florida bus lines, maintain a daily trip schedule covering Manila to Ilocos Norte, Cagayan, and Isabela provinces, and vice versa.
Another provincial bus line, Viron Transit, has announced that it would resume its operations beginning April 8, also on a point-to-point scheme.
“Due to government regulations, we are not allowed to pick up passengers along the road. We will employ a terminal-to-terminal system,” the bus line said in a social media post.
The bus company has stations in Sampaloc in Manila, Cubao in Quezon City, Pozorrubio and Tayug in Pangasinan, San Fernando in La Union, Bangued in Abra, Vigan and Narvacan in Ilocos Sur and Laoag in Ilocos Norte.
Like other bus lines, which have resumed their operations, passengers need to present proof of their COVID-19 vaccination, valid identification, and strictly adhere to standard health protocol.