Most trips from PITX fully booked ahead of Christmas

Bus passengers traveling to the provinces for the holidays are forced to book trips to more distant destinations, as most routes from the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) were already fully booked two days before Christmas.

According to Ian Cruz’s Tuesday report on 24 Oras, around 172,000 passengers had passed through PITX as of 6 p.m., with the influx of travelers becoming more noticeable in the afternoon.

One passenger, Rose Codog, booked a trip to Ormoc City, Leyte, after trips bound for Tacloban City were fully booked.

A bus trip from PITX to Tacloban City usually takes about 24 to 30 hours, depending on traffic, ferry schedules, and sea conditions. Ormoc City is farther west in Leyte, and is about 1.5 to 2 hours away from Tacloban.

Some travelers opted to book bus tickets bound for Matnog, Sorsogon, as an alternative route because bus and boat trips bound for Bayugan City, Agusan del Sur, had reportedly been fully booked, forcing passengers to find nearby ports or cities to continue their journey.

PITX spokesperson Kolyn Calbasa said a surge in passengers was expected on December 23, the last day before the start of the Christmas holiday.

Around 190,000 to 200,000 passengers are expected to use PITX on Tuesday. From December 19 to 22, nearly 800,000 passengers passed through the terminal.

At the BFCT Marikina Terminal, more than 200 passengers were stranded due to delayed buses bound for Leyte and Roxas City.

According to terminal dispatchers, many buses and private vehicles use roll-on/roll-off (RoRo) vessels from Caticlan to Batangas Port, causing delays and leaving buses stuck en route.

Several stranded passengers said they had been waiting for their buses since the previous day.

Travelers heading to North Luzon and the Bicol Region also flocked to bus terminals in Cubao, Quezon City, where some bus arrivals were delayed due to heavy traffic.

Meanwhile, the Araneta City Bus Port remained uncongested, offering trips to Batangas and Lucena City in Quezon province.

The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) said it issued 1,600 special permits for provincial buses to accommodate the volume of passengers during the holiday travel rush.—Mariel Celine Serquiña/MCG/RF, GMA Integrated News