Provincial Transportation

Travel around the country by land is not a problem.  The country has relatively serviceable national highways and barges and ferries that connect major islands. You can choose from the different means of transportation. Buses are a major transport system in both rural and urban areas in the Philippines, providing a relatively safe and dependable public mode of transportation.  You can choose from air- conditioned buses to regular buses.  Bus travel in the Philippines is quite comfortable and reasonably cheap.  A three-hour trip, for instance, can cost you only P150. Most major bus companies operate in rural and urban areas, dividing their routes by city and provincial trips.

Philippine Rabbit bus liner

Some bus companies offer inter-island routes, transporting bus passengers from land to ferry or barges and back to land again on “roll-on roll-off” trips. Buses bound for the provinces can usually be found waiting at terminals but pick up passengers on the way.  Fare on provincial routes differs, depending on destination and distance.  Domestic and foreign tourists have an option to go to car-rental agencies and choose from their line of vehicles, from cars to SUVs, jeeps to limousines, which can be rented with along with a driver or not. If the customer has a valid international license, he or she can choose to drive the rented vehicle, that is if the terribly notorious Filipino drivers don’t intimidate him or her.

Bus Lines

In the Philippines, the big bus lines usually operate from out of the major cities of Manila, Cebu, and Davao. Practically all cities in the Philippines, though, have buses – either the large Greyhound type of buses or what the locals call mini-buses, which are roughly half or a third the length of Greyhounds in the United States.  Buses are some of the cheapest and relatively safest means of public transportation when traveling cross country.  Some bus companies offer inter-island routes, transporting bus passengers from land to ferry or barges and back to land again on “roll-on roll-off” trips. Buses bound for the provinces can usually be found waiting at terminals but pick up passengers along the way.  Fare on provincial routes differs, depending on destination and distance.  Although the usual bus capacity is just around 50 persons, bus owners tolerate the accommodation of up to 60 or more for 50-person buses, some standing inside the bus or seated on the roof. There are two types of buses in the Philippines, regular non-air-conditioned buses and air-conditioned buses.

Ceres Liner Parked in Toledo Port Cebu

Bus Terminals
If you are planning to travel from city to city or town to town, make sure to know where the bus terminals are.  There are a lot of privately-owned buses in the Philippines parked in private or government bus terminals.  The terminals are passenger boarding and drop-off points. However, buses can also stop at designated loading areas to allow passengers to board or drop them off along the way. Bus fares are generally low and regulated by the government. Tickets for the buses owned by the larger companies are issued on board.  Most destinations have a 30-minute to an hour interval before leaving; giving passengers time to get to the terminal on time.

5 am at the Cebu bus terminal

Bus Routes
Bus companies have installed bus terminals all over the country, which are for loading and unloading points.  The bus routes in the country are regulated by the transportation agencies of the Provincial Governments. Buses ply city routes but are mostly bound for regions outside the city.  Bus fares are regulated and determined by the distance from the point of origin to destination. Bus fares are considerably low as they are regulated by the Philippine government.  Metro Manila rates for regular non-air-conditioned buses range from P8 per kilometer and P10/km for air-conditioned buses.   Provincial rates start at P67.50 for regular buses, and P72.50/50km for deluxe buses.

Victory Liner