Going Places in Prewar Cebu

Then as now, traveling was quite a lively affair in Cebu around the 1930s. All the not-so-gentle persuasive techniques that dispatchers do today to entice the public to ride their buses began to evolve during the period. While, the central bus station was located in Plaza Washington (now Freedom Park), passengers of calesas were forced to alight some distance as dispatchers pulled and shoved against each other to get to their would-be passengers. The competition came because, aside from cheap rates, one could pick numerous modes of transport to use when traveling beyond the city limits.

By this time, Cebu boasted the highest number of first-class roads in the country. And the Philippine Railway Co. had long linked the city to Argao in the South and Danao in the North. While fare was pegged officially at 1 centavo per kilometer regardless of type of transport, the three major bus companies that competed with the trains resorted to illegal discounts, collecting ½ centavo in lieu of the mandated rate. Of the almost 200 buses plying the north/south roads, the Cebu Autobus owned 80 while the Filipino Bus as well as the Cebu Transit had 45 buses each. With 50 centavos, one could reach Santander or Bogo by bus or train.

Inter-island travel was just as lively with 30 vessels tied at the Cebu Wharf. At P5.40 one could travel from Surigao or Misamis in the evening and reach by noon the following day.

- Ybarra