Over 180,000 passengers expected at PITX before Christmas week

Around 180,000 passengers were expected to troop to the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) on the final Friday before Christmas week.

According to a "24 Oras" report by Oscar Oida on Friday, most of the scheduled trips for the terminal had already been booked.

The majority of the trips were bound for Bicol and the Visayas.

However, the PITX management said that there were still many trips available as bus companies added up to four trips daily.

The PITX management said it expects around 200,000 passengers by December 23.

Around 140,000 passengers had been recorded at PITX as of 6 p.m. on Friday.

“Hopefully, di matraffic… pero since uwian na talaga, baka traffic na agad, but hoping makarating maaga,” said passenger Dina Fey Lidwa, who arrived at PITX three hours before her trip to Benguet.

(Hopefully, we won’t face heavy traffic… but since it’s around the time when everyone heads home, heavy traffic is expected, but I’m hoping we can arrive early.)

Security was tight at PITX, where PNP help desks were set up.

Meanwhile, other bus terminals in Metro Manila are quickly running out of trips.

At a bus terminal in Cubao, Quezon City, air-conditioned buses to the Bicol Region were already fully booked until December 31. The only remaining options were regular buses, which were available on a first-come, first-served basis.

Night trips to Cagayan at a terminal in Sampaloc, Manila, were also fully booked, while another terminal in Marikina City is expecting a surge of travelers headed for the Visayas in the next few days. — Jiselle Anne Casucian/VBL, GMA Integrated News