DAVAO CITY — People of Davao City will feel the changes in their mode of transport starting next year, as the Department of Transportation implements the P18.7-billon “high priority bus system.”
The DOTr last week announced that the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) Board made a resolution approving the project’s implementation through the agency’s Davao Public Transport Modernization Project. The bus system will involve interconnected services along a 137-kilometer core network and 489-km in feeder routes.
The project is funded by Asian Development Bank through loan terms.
Further, the current public utility jeepney will just have to cease from operations while the city government promised to settle by providing them financial support, and, their units will be paid because they will no longer be allowed to ply their routes.
The bus system has been implemented in the city for select areas only like Catalunan Grande to downtown areas; Toril District to downtown areas, and, Calinan-downtown routes. People in these areas are now used to the bus system since it started operations early this year.
The DOTr said that the purpose of the project is to provide efficient and affordable mode of transport for Davaoeños. Tugade in a statement said, “This administration is all about growth and development which covers not only Luzon but the also Visayas and Mindanao.”
The proposed bus system will involve 29 routes and is expected to be fully operational by 2023. The components of the project includes MetroDavao, the core service that connects major commercial centers; and, DavaoInter, which will run along eight routes connecting the inner urban areas directly to the Davao Central Business District.
Other components are DavaoFeeder, which will run along nine routes linking smaller centers and areas of more dispersed populations to the MetroDavao services, and DavaoLocal, a link between the outer rural areas of Davao and main transport system or the integrated terminals.
“The DPTMP is an important component of the DOTr’s vision to fast-track growth in Mindanao through vital transportation infrastructure,” Public Works and Highways Secretary Mark Villar concluded.
