By Arthur Keefe
An open letter to the owners of CERES LINES
Dear Mr. Owner
I have long been an admirer of your company. You provide a reliable, economical, and frequent public service, and the success and expansion of your company has been well earned.
These are however some areas for improvement, and I hope you will welcome and respond to constructive criticism.
The first relates to lack of information. The times of arrival and departures are often not available, including the first and last bus times. An accurate notice at each terminal would be an improvement. This is less necessary where buses are very frequent, such as in San Carlos, but I have waited in Vaci at Canlaon for a bus, with no information available.
My experience in Cebu (going to Bacolod) has been awful.
On occasion, the ferry from Toledo does not run due to heavy seas. The buses are cancelled, but nobody at Cebu North Terminal seems to know anything. No notice, just myself and a few others trying to ask anybody what is happening.
A simple “bus cancelled due to ferry not operating” would be enough. Even when the buses run, their departure is entirely unpredictable.
I managed some time ago, to get the scheduled departure times from a dispatcher. I recorded these on my phone for future use.
An aircon bus should depart at 10:00AM, and a non-ac at 10:30AM (according to him as the published times) which is not the same.
I usually aim to arrive 30 minutes early to be sure of a seat.
This week, the aircon bus left at 9:30AM (before I arrived), and I only just caught the 10:30AM bus which left at 9:50AM. It was nearly empty, and may well have left other passengers stranded, as the reset bus leaves at 3:00PM.
To add insult to injury, the bus then proceeded to the Ceres garage to refuel! Why on earth can it not refuel before it enters the terminal as buses do everywhere else? This added 15 minutes to our journey.
My suspicion for the neglect of concern for passengers, is that the drivers and conductors want to ensure that they have sufficient time to catch their free meal at the food stop in Toledo! If the bus leaves on time and encounters heavy traffic, this may not be possible.
If so, the answer is to revise and publish the schedule so that sufficient time is allowed!
The important thing is for the passenger to know when the bus will leave, and that this is kept to reliably.
Incidently, I don’t know why the Toledo service was switched from the South terminal (in the direction of Toledo, and where all the other buses leave from) to the less convenient North terminal.
Were the interests of passengers part of the deliberation? Is this a permanent move? It adds time to the journey, as the bus has to pass through City Centre traffic which is avoided when departing from the South terminal.
The drivers of Ceres seem to be among the best. They no longer drive as fast or recklessly as I experienced some years ago. This makes for a safer and more comfortable journey. It is also more economical for the company.
However, buses travelling across the mountains from Bacolod to San Carlos, seems willing to stop at anybody’s front gate, regardless of safety. As a consequence when driving,
I am often faced with overtaking a parked bus on a blind bend.
This “hail and ride” principle is appropriate to rural areas, but your drivers need to stop at the nearest SAFE place, not on blind bends, even if the passengers have to walk a little way to their gate!
I am publishing this as an open letter in the local San Carlos newspaper, as my comments also reflect the concerns of others.
I hope that you will take actions on these issues, but we would also welcome a response from you, which we can publish in a later edition.
I wish you and your company well.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Keefe
I have long been an admirer of your company. You provide a reliable, economical, and frequent public service, and the success and expansion of your company has been well earned.
These are however some areas for improvement, and I hope you will welcome and respond to constructive criticism.
The first relates to lack of information. The times of arrival and departures are often not available, including the first and last bus times. An accurate notice at each terminal would be an improvement. This is less necessary where buses are very frequent, such as in San Carlos, but I have waited in Vaci at Canlaon for a bus, with no information available.
My experience in Cebu (going to Bacolod) has been awful.
On occasion, the ferry from Toledo does not run due to heavy seas. The buses are cancelled, but nobody at Cebu North Terminal seems to know anything. No notice, just myself and a few others trying to ask anybody what is happening.
A simple “bus cancelled due to ferry not operating” would be enough. Even when the buses run, their departure is entirely unpredictable.
I managed some time ago, to get the scheduled departure times from a dispatcher. I recorded these on my phone for future use.
An aircon bus should depart at 10:00AM, and a non-ac at 10:30AM (according to him as the published times) which is not the same.
I usually aim to arrive 30 minutes early to be sure of a seat.
This week, the aircon bus left at 9:30AM (before I arrived), and I only just caught the 10:30AM bus which left at 9:50AM. It was nearly empty, and may well have left other passengers stranded, as the reset bus leaves at 3:00PM.
To add insult to injury, the bus then proceeded to the Ceres garage to refuel! Why on earth can it not refuel before it enters the terminal as buses do everywhere else? This added 15 minutes to our journey.
My suspicion for the neglect of concern for passengers, is that the drivers and conductors want to ensure that they have sufficient time to catch their free meal at the food stop in Toledo! If the bus leaves on time and encounters heavy traffic, this may not be possible.
If so, the answer is to revise and publish the schedule so that sufficient time is allowed!
The important thing is for the passenger to know when the bus will leave, and that this is kept to reliably.
Incidently, I don’t know why the Toledo service was switched from the South terminal (in the direction of Toledo, and where all the other buses leave from) to the less convenient North terminal.
Were the interests of passengers part of the deliberation? Is this a permanent move? It adds time to the journey, as the bus has to pass through City Centre traffic which is avoided when departing from the South terminal.
The drivers of Ceres seem to be among the best. They no longer drive as fast or recklessly as I experienced some years ago. This makes for a safer and more comfortable journey. It is also more economical for the company.
However, buses travelling across the mountains from Bacolod to San Carlos, seems willing to stop at anybody’s front gate, regardless of safety. As a consequence when driving,
I am often faced with overtaking a parked bus on a blind bend.
This “hail and ride” principle is appropriate to rural areas, but your drivers need to stop at the nearest SAFE place, not on blind bends, even if the passengers have to walk a little way to their gate!
I am publishing this as an open letter in the local San Carlos newspaper, as my comments also reflect the concerns of others.
I hope that you will take actions on these issues, but we would also welcome a response from you, which we can publish in a later edition.
I wish you and your company well.
Yours sincerely,
Arthur Keefe
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