BACOLOD City – Vallacar Transit Inc. (VTI), the operator of Ceres Liner and Tours buses, will not push through with its plan to resume operation today in Negros Occidental.
This after the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) in this capital city has been extended until May 15.
Jesideth Marquez-Seballos, legal and media relations manager of VTI, said the extended ECQ, which started on Friday, poses a challenge since their main terminals and gasoline stations are located here.
She said some of their workers live outside Bacolod but still allowed to enter the city while strict quarantine measures are being imposed.
“We are looking at resuming operations once the ECQ is lifted,” she said.
On March 30, operations of all forms of public transport were suspended in Negros Occidental and Bacolod City as part of the implementation of the ECQ.
The first ECQ, which was supposed to end on April 14, was extended both in the province and the city until April 30.
While Bacolod will continue to be under ECQ in the next 15 days, Negros Occidental already started shifting to general community quarantine (GCQ) on Friday, allowing public transportation, including buses, to operate in all its 31 cities and municipalities at a reduced capacity.
However, buses and jeepneys still cannot transport passengers to this city until after the ECQ ends on May 15.
Meanwhile, Seballos said that VTI will continue to deploy its buses for free to front-liners and other essential workers in Bacolod.
The bus firm has lent some 21 buses to the city government for the duration of the ECQ. (With a report from PNA/PN)
