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More Students Benefit From Ilocos Norte Shuttle Services
Laoag City – More Ilocano students are benefitting from the 50 percent fare discount offered by the Sirib shuttle services of the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte (PGIN).
According to the Metro Ilocos Norte Council (MINC), since the program launch on September 9, there has been a significant increase of as high as 633 percent of passengers in buses and jeepneys deployed in different areas in this province.
From 64 initial passengers, the program now commutes 440 on its third week for bus services and 404 commuters in jeepney services.
“These shuttle services aim to provide services to the students at a lower cost to help them and their families save money,” said Cipriano Hilarion Martinez, MINC consultant.
Cipriano also said the program mainly provides shuttle service to students who travel from remote areas to university centers, mainly in Laoag City and Batac City.
The MINC, which is the main proponent of the program, has partnered with the Ilocos Norte Youth Office (INYO) and other local government units (LGUs) here to provide smooth services to the schoolchildren.
The province subsidizes fuel to three buses and four jeepneys to cater different route around Ilocos Norte.
The rotating public transport bears the logos of ‘Sirib’, an Ilocano term which means intelligent or smart.
This program operates from Mondays to Fridays and requires only the passengers to wear their student identification cards to be able to avail of the discount.
Routes include Bacarra-Pasuquin-Burgos in the north, San Nicolas-Batac and Suba-Paoay in the south, and Sarrat-Dingras-Marcos-Banna-
The Laoag City Centennial Arena parking lot serves as the terminal for the shuttle services as they wait for students returning to their towns in the afternoon.
Meanwhile, Governor Imee R. Marcos hopes to provide Ilocano students with a more convenient and a cheaper way to pursue their education through the said program. (JNPD/CJDG/PIA-1, Ilocos Norte with reports from PGIN-CMO)
