Passenger volume spike at Araneta bus terminals seen on weekend before Christmas

MANILA, Philippines — While passengers wishing to go home to their provinces for the holidays have started to troop the Araneta Center bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City, the volume is still expected to swell over the weekend before Christmas.

Araneta bus terminal General Manager Ramon Legazpi on Friday said the volume of passengers is expected to reach up to 7,000 over the weekend at the two bus terminals — the bus station for non-air-conditioned buses and the bus port for air-conditioned buses.

“Yesterday, medyo nadagdagan ‘yung ating mga pasahero na paalis. Nasa 3,300 na kahapon dito sa bus station and around 2,500 sa bus port, so we might expect a little bit higher today and over the weekend,” Legazpi told INQUIRER.net in an interview.

(Yesterday, the volume of passengers already slightly increased. The passengers in the bus station were at 3,3000 while the bus port was at 2,500 so we might expect a little bit higher today and over the weekend.)

“At the most, 10 percent ang ineexpect natin na itataas compared to previous years. We might be expecting 6,000 or 6,500 or 7,000 passengers [this holiday season],” he added.

(At the most, we expect a 10-percent increase in the volume of passengers this year. We might be expecting 6,000 or 6,500 or 7,000 passengers.)

He added that he expects the influx of passengers to cease by Christmas Day itself (Dec. 25) but it will again pick up by Dec. 26 and the days leading up to New Year’s Day.

Photo shows some passengers queuing for bus rides at the Araneta bus station in Cubao, Quezon City. Photo by Cathy Miranda/INQUIRER.net

Ease in booking rides and waiting in line is still bearable as of Friday, as attested by several passengers.

Jacqueline Nise, 19, was able to book a ride to Masbate, her hometown, only a day before her travel date.

Meanwhile, Ronald Yamos, 27, booked his ride two weeks in advance to avoid the long queues at the ticketing booth.

“Medyo mahirap pag on the spot kami magbook. Mahirap po talaga kasi nauubusan. Sa ngayon, mabilis po [mag-book] kasi maluwag pa, marami pang bakante,” Yamos told INQUIRER.net in a separate interview.

(Getting a ride on the day of travel itself is difficult because tickets are in high demand. For now, booking a ride is still easy because there are still a lot of vacancies.)

Photo shows some passengers queuing for bus rides at the Araneta bus station in Cubao, Quezon City. Photo by Cathy Miranda/INQUIRER.net

The management of the bus terminals has already put in place intensified security measures, such as doubling security personnel, to address the influx of passengers.

Legazpi said no untoward incident has so far been recorded yet and he attributes this to the increased security measures in the bus terminals.

He reminded passengers to refrain from bringing to the bus terminals restricted items such as sharp tools, ammunition among others.

To ease the expected woes of passengers waiting for their rides, the management has also provided additional ventilation equipment such as fans to the Araneta bus station as the building is not air-conditioned.

“May karagdagang tayong ventilation na nilagay like wall fan at may fan tayo sa may ticketing area and then we’re still awaiting for the exhaust na ilalagay namin sa gawin likuran para yung init mahigop palabas,” Legazpi said.

(We added additional ventilation equipment such as fans in the ticketing area. We are still waiting for the exhaust that would expel humid air from the bus station.)

He advised those who wish to travel this holiday season to already book their rides ahead of time to avoid experiencing inconveniences as long queues at the ticketing booth.

“Magtungo na po rito sa bus station at maluwag pa ho tayo at mangyari na makabili na sila ng ticket ahead nang sa ganun hindi nila maexpereince yung maging transpassenger later on,” the Araneta bus terminal official said.

(Passengers should already book their rides ahead of time so that they will no longer experience the inconvenience of being a transpassenger later on.)