Araneta bus terminals not yet crowded, but more passengers expected Friday

The two bus terminals at Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City were still not crowded on Thursday, days before the Holy Week is to start, a report on Unang Balita said.

Only a few passengers were spotted Thursday morning at the new Araneta Center Bus Port and the old Araneta Center Bus Terminal, GMA News' Rida Reyes reported.

No lines were seen at the ticketing booth, although many passengers have opted to reserve tickets rather than walk in and line up to buy them.

Management said there was no crowd yet as of Thursday maybe because it is still a working day.

However, they expect that the volume of passengers will increase by Friday as passengers catch bus rides to Bicol and Visayas after the workweek ends.

Should the usual buses be fully booked, commuters need not worry since more than 1,000 special trips have been approved by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board to accommodate the influx of passengers for the Holy Week break, the report said.

April 13 (Maundy Thursday) and April 14 (Good Friday) have been declared as regular holidays, while April 15 (Black Saturday) is a special non-working holiday.

Despite the thin crowd at the bus terminals, security remains tight on Thursday.

All packages and baggage are being inspected before these are allowed to be carried into the buses. —KG, GMA News