Thousands of passengers rushed on Friday, October 31, to secure buses in terminals in Cubao, Quezon City, to travel to their home provinces ahead of All Saints and Souls Day, or Undas.
In an interview with the INQUIRER, terminal dispatchers in Cubao said that the peak of passengers arriving at their terminals this Friday was in the morning until noon. In Baliwag bus terminal, 167 buses with a 49-seating capacity or more than 8,000 passengers travelled for Bulacan and Nueva Ecija from its first trip at 12 a.m. until 4 p.m.
For the Five Star bus terminal, 218 buses with a 45-seating capacity, or more than 9,800 passengers, to the Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, Cagayan, Pampanga, and Isabela routes from 12 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Fifty buses with a 49-seating capacity, or more than 2,400 passengers, left at the Cisco terminal from 1 a.m. to 4 p.m. to Nueva Ecija and Pangasinan. The Solid North bus terminal routing Pangasinan recorded 23 buses with a 45-seating capacity, or more than 1,000 passengers, from 1 a.m. until 4 p.m.
Ten buses with a 45-seating capacity bound for Baguio City left the Genesis terminal from 12 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Bus terminal dispatchers said they expect the influx of passengers to subside on Saturday, All Saints’ Day, adding that most of the Filipinos in Metro Manila have already returned to their provinces. /cb