THE ILOILO City council has approved Megaworld Corp.’s proposal to build and operate a transport hub within its 72-hectare Iloilo Business Park in the Mandurriao district. In an ordinance approved last March 5, the Sanguniang Panlungsod said the transport hub shall be used exclusively for vans and shuttle buses with franchises issued by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB). “The transport hub shall be used exclusively and limitedly only to UV Express, Tourist and Chartered Vans and Bus and Shuttle Buses with a valid and existing franchise issued by LTFRB,” Councilor Plaridel C. Nava, chairman of the council’s transportation committee, said. Public utility jeepneys that cover the city loop route and taxis, meanwhile, shall be allowed to pick up and deliver passengers at the parking space within the transport hub without a fee from Megaworld. Mr. Nava added that the “Megaworld Transport Hub” will serve as the pilot terminal for the modern e-jeepneys in the city. “It is part of the city government’s effort to serve as pilot terminal for the modernized jeepneys,” he said. During the public hearing prior to the project approval, Mr. Nava said Megaworld representatives stressed the need to provide transportation service for business processes outsourcing (BPO) employees within the Iloilo Business Park. “According to Megaworld, there are about 25,000 BPO employees from the nearby municipalities and provinces that need transportation round the clock, excluding other workers within the vicinity of the Iloilo Business Park that may reach up to 30,000,” Mr. Nava said. Iloilo City’s Public Safety and Transportation Management Office head Jeck Conlu, in a separate interview, said the planned transport hub is a welcome development for the city. “The proposal is economically beneficial because we can provide means of transportation (for the BPO workers)… Finally we can also boast a modern terminal like Manila” Mr. Conlu said. — Emme Rose S. Santiagudo

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR