Ilocos Norte, Laoag City gov’ts organize ‘night express’

By Leilanie G. Adriano

Staff reporter

Laoag City—In preparation for the influx of tourist this summer, the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC) was organized to cater to night commuters in at least four key destinations in the province.

The improvement of the public transport system was an offshoot of Ilocos Norte Governor Ma. Imelda “Imee” R. Marcos’ State of the Province Address (SOPA) 2014 as she launched the Ilocos Norte 2020 vision to make the province the best little province in the country five years from now.

Part of this vision is to address the travel woes faced mostly by tourists including students who want to travel at night but without available public utility jeepneys and buses after 8 pm.

In a three-page memorandum of agreement signed by Ms. Marcos, Laoag City government administrator Cipriano Hilarion “Perry” Martinez III and the different transport organizations in the province, they agreed to introduce new routes or the provision of nigh express to serve passengers from 8pm to 1am from Laoag City all the way to Pagudpud every Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

The complete routes are: Laoag-Batac-Paoay, Laoag-Dingras, Laoag-Bacarra and Laoag–Pagudpud respectively.

Based on the agreement which will be on experimental basis from March 6 to August 31, 2015, standard fares will be collected from commuters and the central terminal will be at the Provincial Capitol west parking lot.

The transport groups will also guarantee the availability of trips per hour from 8 pm to 1 am.

Since the agreement is just “experimental” in nature, Ms. Marcos appealed to the public and those who may be affected by the proposed public transport system to understand the current situation and help instead the province to realize its vision to improve transportation services in key economic zones of Ilocos Norte.

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