A look inside the point-to-point (P2P) bus which travels from UP Town Center in Katipunan, Quezon City to One Ayala in Makati. Photo from the DNS P2P Bus Facebook page/file

MANILA -- Many commuters on Friday were surprised and saddened by the temporary halt in operations of the point-to-point (P2P) bus that travels from UP Town Center in Katipunan, Quezon City to One Ayala, which is in the Makati Central Business District.

DNS Transport Group, which operates the route, announced the suspension on social media on Thursday evening.

“It is with a heavy heart that we must announce  the temporary suspension of our DNS P2P Bus Operations starting November 22, 2024,” it said.

DNS described the P2P route as a missionary route, or a transportation route that lacks market viability, but said it kept it going as a “service of heart.”

“Despite being a missionary route, sustained by subsidies from our other business units, we kept running it because we saw the importance it brought to the small market communities in Katipunan, Quezon City, and Makati CBD,” it said.

“But as much as we want to continue, it has become too hard for us to keep this route going, and with a heavy heart, we have to take  a break for now. This is not goodbye. We hope to see you again soon,” it added.

It also apologized for the trouble the suspension of operations would cause to its usual customers.

Quezon City resident Vea Lalas was among those who went to the P2P bus terminal in Katipunan early Friday morning, only to be caught of guard by the lack of buses and the closed ticket dispatching booth.

She works at an architecture firm in Makati so she relies heavily on the P2P bus.

In a panic to still get to her job on time, she was forced to book a ride on a ride-hailing app, at a rate more than the P200 she spends on the P2P bus, back and forth from work.

“I need to be at work at around 7:30am so talagang may konting leeway lang kaya nagpanic na rin ako,” said Lalas.

“Hindi ko rin ma-explore yung ibang options to commute. meron naman tayong EDSA Bus Carousel pero sa North EDSA pa yun, medyo malayo. So pag ganun, iri-risk ko rin yung time going there,” she added.

She admits she cannot afford to book a ride every day so she is already exploring other modes of transportation.

“May nakita din akong isang nag-react doon sa post ng P2P nung DNS na baka meron dyan gustong mag-carpool so nagmessage na rin ako, nagbabaka sakali,” she shared.

Lalas noted that she would be willing to pay a higher fare if that would allow the transport company to resume and sustain its operations.

“Iba lang talaga yung level of comfort na hinahanap ko rin. Yung pagod sa pagpila, tsaka yung siksikan, talagang minsan makikipag-gitgitan ka— dun kasi sa P2P walang ganun,” she said.

University of the Philippines Diliman (UPD) student Samantha Edu was meanwhile on her way home to Cavite for the weekend.

She came straight to the P2P bus terminal after her 11 a.m. class, hoping to avoid the rush hour traffic in the afternoon.

But there were no buses in sight.

“Medyo inconvenient po, kasi yun talaga ang pinaka easy and accessible for me kasi siyempre estudyante po ako, marami po akong kailangan dalhin pauwi,” she said.

“Kahit makatulog ako sa bus or anything since pagod, galing ng school, hindi ako lalampas anywhere,” added Edu.

The same thing happened to Shannen Baltazar, another UP student looking to stay in Parañaque for the weekend.

Since she was not aware of other available transport options, she had to call up her parents to ask for advice.

“Looking forward din ako kasi birthday weekend yun ng cousin ko tapos mag-oouting kami sa Tagaytay. Na-shock lang ako kasi sarado pala siya,” she said.

“Worried din actually yung mom ko na magco-commute ako kasi mag-isa lang din ako bibiyahe,” she added.

Edu and Baltazar also hope that the DNS P2P buses will operate again soon. But until then, they are left to figure out how to get where they need to be, some other way.

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