The Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) on Wednesday opened a new bus route from the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange to Davao City (PITX).
Starting June 15, the PITX-Davao City bus service will run every day at 2:30 p.m. Meanwhile, the return route from Davao City to PITX will begin on June 20.
The one-way fee was P3,680, including two inter-island roll-on, roll-off (RoRo), or ferry rides.
Before arriving in Davao City, the route makes various stops, including Turbina/Sto. Tomas/Laguna, Quirino Meal Place, Naga Terminal, Sorsogon/Matnog, Allen/Samar, Tacloban, Sogod/So. Leyte, Liloan, Surigao, Kitcharao, Butuan, San Francisco, Monkayo, and Tagum.
The 1,500-kilometer journey may take three days and two nights.
The Davao Metro Shuttle, which operates the bus route, is offering a 50 percent discount to people who take the first route on its first day.
While visitors may prefer a faster flight from Metro Manila to Davao City, LTFRB executive director Tina Cassion stated that “there are really people naman talaga na they really prefer riding the bus, especially with the freight. ‘Yung meron kasing capability din ‘yung bus sa ilalim niya they can carry more than what is being carried doon sa mga airlines dahil mas mahal ‘yung ano [fee] daw ng mga airlines.”
PITX bus ride to Davao City launched; one-way fare at P3,680
(Some people prefer riding the bus, especially with the freight. The bus has the same capability, they can carry more than what is carried there by the airlines because the [fee] of the airlines is more expensive.)
“Then, siyempre ‘yung going to the province, there are people na they prefer riding the buses rather than eroplano,” she said.
(Then, some people prefer riding the buses rather than airplanes when going to the province.)
The Davao Metro Shuttle fleet consists of 15 Volvo B8R bus units.
The bus units contain hydraulic self-leveling seats for the comfort of the passengers. In addition, the engine emits Euro 5, which exceeds the Department of Transportation’s requirement of Euro 4.
The bus units also have broad reclining leather seats with individual USB charging stations and a restroom at the back of the bus.
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