THE economies of Northern and Central Luzon will likely grow by 6 to 8 percent every year for the next 20 years with the transportation sector reporting a noticeable boom in passengers traffic because of increased economic activities.
“Due to the renewed confidence of investors in the Philippine economy, [there is] a boom not just in consumer [spending] but also in investor confidence,” said Yvonne Gantioqui, finance and administrative manager of Victory Liner, one of the country’s biggest bus companies.
Gantioqui noted that business has been picking up in San Fernando City in Pampanga, Baguio City in Benguet, Dagupan City in Pangasinan and also the free ports of Clark and Subic.
“We see huge numbers of foreigners and locals flocking to these cities and towns in Central and Northern Luzon not just for leisure, but more so, for business,” Gantioqui said during the 70th anniversary celebration of Victory Liner.
Gantioqui and Victory Liner operations manager Ronald Sarmiento said they expect Luzon’s gross domestic product to grow by 6 to 8 percent per year over the next 20 years.
Gantioqui said more businesses are shifting their operations from jampacked Metro Manila to more spacious areas in Bulacan, Pampanga, Nueva Ecija, Bataan and Zambales.
Over the past five years, Gantioqui said their company has seen a big spike in the number of people traveling by provincial buses and Victory Liner alone is facing overcapacity, something which they try to resolve every single day.
“We observe that there is a lack of public transport because current providers cannot accommodate everyone. Demand far exceeds supply,” she said.
“[But] the bus industry cannot expand due to government regulations. We buy new buses to replace the old ones. This is our annual refleeting program. We modernize about 10 percent of our fleet annually,” Gantioqui added.
For his part, Sarmiento says more and more commuters are using VLI buses due to the improvements they are doing right now especially in improving convenience, and riding safety.
“We are currently focusing and improving our services in our existing routes,” says Sarmiento who manages a fleet of about 900 buses plying major routes in Central and Northern Luzon.
“We are gearing towards an airline-type of experience. Look forward to experiencing an airport-like atmosphere in our terminals. We are also improving our online ticketing services, digital monitors, arrival and departure screens—the whole digital experience.”