Engr. Aloysius Mapalo, Supervising Administrative Officer of the City Tourism Office, said tourists coming to the city with their private cars will be asked to park their vehicles at the Baguio Convention Center grounds and take the HoHo bus to go around.
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| Baguio PIO’s announcement of HoHo Bus |
The city tourism office targets to implement the HoHo bus by July 15 and every weekends thereafter (Friday, Saturday and Sunday).
BAGUIO ON WEEKENDS
Data from the portal visita.baguio.gov.ph shows an average of 50,000 to 60,000 weekly tourist arrivals where bulk or about 40,000 arrives from Friday to Sunday.
“In just one day, we may have an accumulated tourists of 30,000 tourists in a day during peak season and this will really cause traffic all over the city particularly along Botanical Garden and Mines View Park,” Mapalo said.
He furthered, Botanical Garden being the preferred destination now receives an average of 2,000 daily visitors during weekdays and increases to 5,000 daily during weekends per day; increase even more up to 7,000 daily during holidays and peak season.
THE REVIVAL OF HOHO BUS
“Supposing half of the daily tourist arrival have their own cars, we can estimate more than 800 vehicles passing Botanical Garden during weekdays and even more during weekends so really there is a lot of traffic in the area,” Mapalo explained.
This prompted the city tourism officer to propose the revival of the HoHo bus to be operated during weekends and help decongest traffic.
“The idea is ‘park and ride’ to decongest private vehicles parking in our streets and parks,” the tourism officer said.
Where to avail HoHo Bus Pass
Tourists availing of the HoHo Bus Pass must park their vehicles at the Baguio Convention & Cultural Center designated parking areas. While the bus pass for the HoHo tourist bus is free, vehicle owners must pay the city-sanctioned parking fees below.
For now, the HoHo bus will be free but tourists will have to pay parking fee at the Baguio Convention Center. The parking fee will be used for the operation and maintenance of the bus and allowance of the driver as well as the tour guide.
HOHO BUS ROUTES
Here’s a list of the HoHo Bus route:
- Baguio Convention Center (serves as the main terminal of HoHo Bus)
- Botanical Garden
- Mansion House
- Mines View Park
- Wright Park
- Governor Pack Road (Session Road & Burnham Park)
The Hoho bus tour will also allow tourist to maximize their day being able to visit five major parks in the city in one circuit with at least five to 10 minutes travel time from one stop to the next stop. Waiting time per stop will be 15 to 20 minutes to allow tourist to enjoy the parks or they may stay longer and still be able to catch the next bus in 30 minutes.
There are only two HoHo busses to operate with 30 minutes interval time per trip. The first trip leaves Baguio Convention Center at 8:30 in the morning while the last trip is scheduled at 6:20 in the afternoon departing from Wright Park to Gov. Pack Road drop off point.
HOHO BUS SCHEDULES
Hop-On Hop-Off Tourist Buses are available every weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) starting July 15, 2022, following the departure schedule below:
- Trip 1 8:30 AM 9:05 AM 9:25 AM 9:50 AM 10:20 AM
- Trip 2 9:50 AM 10:25 AM 10:45 AM 11:10 AM 11:40 AM
- Trip 3 11:10 AM 11:45 AM 12:05 PM 12:30 PM 1:00 PM
- Trip 4 12:30 PM 1:05 PM 1:25 PM 2:00 PM 2:30 PM
- Trip 5 1:50 PM 2:25 PM 2:45 PM 3:10 PM 3:40 PM
- Trip 6 3:20 PM 3:45 PM 4:05 PM 4:50 PM 5:10 PM
- Trip 7 4:30 PM 5:05 PM 5:25 PM 5:50 PM 6:20 PM
NOTE: Accommodation on the buses will be on a first-come-first-served basis.
PARKING RATES
Mapalo said they will adopt the city’s existing parking rate at the Baguio Convention Center as follows: P35 for light vehicles for the first two hours plus P10 for every additional hour of parking; P40 for mini excursion buses plus P15 per additional hour; P400 regular tourist buses and P15 per additional hour; and, P10 for motorcycles with P5 additional per hour of parking.
ATTRACTIONS TO SEE IN MANILA
Mayor Benjamin B. Magalong directed the Tourism Office and the city’s Traffic and Transportation Management Division of the City Engineering Office to consult the public transport sector before the implementation of the HoHo tourism bus to iron out concerns and issues.
