Baguio City, Philippines - Baguio is planning to bring back the Hop-On, Hop-Off bus mainly for tourists with private cars visiting the place to reduce traffic in the city.
Traffic in Baguio can be horrible, especially during days when thousands of tourists come up to the city with their cars.
Engineer Aloysius Mapalo, Supervising Administrative Officer of the City Tourism Office, through Public Information Office - City of Baguio said that the idea of reviving the HOHO bus for tourists may decongest private vehicles parking in the streets and parks.
The officer said that they target to operate HOHO tour buses on July 15, 2022. This shall be manned every Friday to Sunday thereafter.
The Botanical Garden receives 2, 000 daily visitors during weekdays, about 5, 000 daily on weekends and increased up to 7, 000 during peak season, explained Mapalo, adding that half of the tourists visiting the city drive their vehicles, estimated to be more than 800 private vehicles.
The number can cause enough traffic jams that bring in slow mobility in the area.
Based on the data of portal visita.baguio.gov.ph, the average tourist arrival weekly reach 50,000 to 60,000 and about 40,000 arrives from Friday to Sunday.
HOHO tourist bus implementation
Tourists visiting Baguio City are advised to park their vehicles at the Baguio Convention Center grounds where the HOHO buses pick up point is.
The bus will be setting off from Baguio Convention Center to the Botanical Garden as the first stop, Mansion House as the second stop, Mines View Park will be the third stop and Wright Park via Gibraltar Road as the fourth stop, and move toward South Drive to drop off at Governor Pack Road. At this point, tourists can stroll around the Central Business District and Burnham Park.
City Tourism Office provides two HOHO buses to operate at a time interval of 30 minutes per trip.
The first trip departs from Baguio Convention Center at 8:30 in the morning while the last trip is at 6:20 in the evening, leaving from Wright Park and the Gov. Pack Road as the drop-off point.
For tourists to enjoy and maximize their time at the five major parks, the buses will stop by the areas for at least 5 to 10 minutes.
There shall be a 15 to 20 minutes travel break to allow tourists to view sights at the parks. They may also be allowed to stay longer but will have to catch the next bus in 30 minutes.
HOHO buses shall be free of charge.
However, tourists will have to pay a parking fee at the Baguio convention center. The parking fee shall be used for the operation and maintenance of the bus and for the allowances for drivers and tour guides.
The existing parking rate at the Baguio Convention Center will be adopted, P35 for light vehicles in the first two hours plus P10 for every additional hour of parking, P40 for mini excursion buses plus P15 per additional hour, P400 for regular tourist buses, and P15 per additional hour and, P10 for motorcycles with P5 additional per hour of parking.
To resolve concerns and issues, Mayor Magalong instructed the Tourism Office and the city’s Traffic and Transportation Management Division of the City Engineering Office to consult the public transport sector.
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