An Assessment of the Operations of A Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City: A Basis for

Improved Commuter's Waiting Time, 2021

Proponents:
Gandionco, Charlz Andre I.
Librando, Trisha Katherine L.
Lingad, Jason Aaron P.

Presented to:

Local Government Unit

Date:
May 29, 2021
 Table of Contents

Introduction ............................................... 3

Literature review ............................................... 5

Research questions ............................................... 7

Research design and methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

Research schedule ............................................... 9

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
 Introduction

The existing public transport system in the Philippines relies primarily on jeepneys,
cultural icons of ingenuity initially repurposed from the army Jeeps left after World War II.
Jeepneys are backyard-fabricated vehicles with chassis often as old as 50 to 70 years old and
engines more than 15 years old, capable of accommodating 12-32 passengers (Mariano, 2019).
Public Utility Jeepneys (PUJ) have become one of the most utilized modes of transportation in
the Philippines (Abad et al., 2016). There are around 179,000 jeepneys of which 90% are fifteen
years older. Public transport in Cebu is dominated by Public Utility Jeepneys (Bouquet, 2019).

According to Kaneko et al. (2013), jeepney terminals can be divided into mainly three
types. One uses a roadside space without specific facilities for passengers. The second is a
terminal located off-street without specific facilities. The third one is a terminal which is
developed with facilities such as shelters, information boards, bays, etc.

In the Public Terminal located in Lapu-Lapu City, even with the current pandemic
situation given the reduced number of commuters, long queues in the terminal are still observed.
It is observed that commuters’ rate of arrival is greater than the service rate, which means that
the number of passengers arriving in the terminal exceeds the number of passengers that are
accommodated with the transportation vehicle.

A news report by GMA Regional TV – Balitang Bisdak last September 2020, reported
that long queues in the Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City are experienced by commuters. With
the modernized public utility vehicles being implemented, only fourteen passengers can be
accommodated, as a protocol due to the pandemic situation.

Problem Statement

The Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City with modern jeepneys is being used in the routes
of Lapu-Lapu – Mandaue. These jeepneys have a maximum capacity of 30 passengers, but due
to the current pandemic situation, barriers are installed which serves as a health and safety
protocol, which results in a reduced passenger capacity. It is evidently observed that there are
long queues of passengers waiting in line for their transportation in the Public terminal. The sole
purpose of this research is to reduce the passenger’s waiting time.
This study is framed on the following questions:

1.) What is the current operational process of the Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City?

2.) What are the alternatives being considered in the process of reducing the passenger
waiting time?
 Relevance and Importance of the Research
Significance of the Study
● Lapu-Lapu Government. This study would be beneficial to the Lapu-Lapu City
government by using this research as a ground to formulate more effective transportation
systems in terms of jeepney allocation.

● The Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City. This paper would be beneficial to them as a
ground to determine the optimal allocation of jeepneys to operate in the terminal. This
would help them improve their system as well as their customer service

● Local Commuters. This study would be beneficial especially to the local commuters
since they are the research subjects. By this study, customer waiting time in the terminal
would be reduced.
 Review of related literature

Demand for Public Transport

Nacino (2014) indicates that vehicles for public transportation far outnumber private
vehicles in the Philippines. All in all, about 70% of the total person trips nationwide are done by
means of public transportation. Of these, jeepneys comprise 39% of all the trips with users
coming from various income groups. In terms of Vehicle Kilometer Travel (VKT), the jeepneys
accounted for 80% of the total VKT in the Philippines in 2005. Moreover, in a cross-sectional
study by Ranosa et al. (2017), 57% of commuters prefer using jeepneys as their primary mode of
transportation due to their affordability. Lastly, the implementation of the Tax Reform for
Acceleration and Inclusion (TRAIN) law could lead to a decrease in private vehicle sales due to
increased tax prices of private vehicles and gasoline (Rith et al., 2020). This would most likely
result in further increased demand for the availability of more public utility vehicles. According
to the Chairman of the Philippine Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board, PUJs
dominate road-based public transportation. According to Delgra (2016), there are 180,000 PUJs
nationwide and 90% are 15 years old and above vehicles. Like with all other locations in the
Philippines, the PUJs are the most common form of public transport in the country. Modern
jeepneys have also begun to follow the city highways.

Lapu-Lapu City

Like any major city in Cebu province, there was a significant rise in the number of
residents in Lapu-Lapu City after the year 2000. According to The Philippine Statistics Office
(2017), the population census between the years 2000 and 2015 shows that the number of
inhabitants in Lapu-Lapu city nearly doubled from 217,019 to 408,112 individuals. Among 15
barangays in the aforementioned city, the sixth most populous was Pajo with about 21,000
inhabitants. A 2018 paper by Gogola et al. (2018) argues that demographic change has a directly
proportional relationship with public transport impact. With this, as Lapu- Lapu city displays
considerable population growth, the market for public transport should also surge. According to
the Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines Population (2020) - Population Stat, the current population in
the urban area is 474,725, which is estimated to be a 2.84% increase from 2019 (Lapu-Lapu City,
Philippines Metro Area Population 1950-2020, MacroTrends), and is ranked 16th in the
Philippine’s most populated cities

Three months into the pandemic, the social welfare department reported some 36,200
jeepney drivers of over 200,000 nationwide getting cash aid under Bayanihan 1. Even so, many
jeepney drivers only received one tranche of the Php5,000-8,000 of social amelioration. IBON
estimated that around 55,000-70,000 jeepney drivers in Metro Manila each lost an average of
Php26,000 per month of lockdown over the first three months of suspended mass transport for a
total of Php78,000 each.
Jeepney Allocation

According to Mettke et al. (2016), there are around 250,000 jeepneys in the 114
Philippines, approximately 55,000 thereof in Metro Manila, although the true number of 115
including informal jeepneys may be much higher. Still today, jeepneys count for about 116
40% of all vehicle trips, which make them the biggest contributor of greenhouse gas 117
emissions in the transport sector and a dominating force in daily life in the Philippines. 118
Jeepneys are capable of accommodating 12 to 32 passengers, are manufactured and 119
maintained locally in small facilities, and are regarded as a cultural symbol of the country.

Queuing Analysis

Rosenquist (1987) identified queuing analysis as a mathematical technique which is used

for studying characteristics of queueing (waiting) for service. According to Kenton (2019), it
examines every component of waiting in line to be served, including the arrival process,
service process, number of servers, number of system places, and the number of customers—
which might be people, data packets, cars, etc. The first significant work on queuing
according to Swamidass (2006), was performed by A.K. Erlang of the Danish Telephone
Company in 1909 with the objective of determining the optimal number of telephone lines to
handle pre-specified call frequencies. Capacity allocation decisions are complicated by the
fact that it is often impossible to predict accurately when “customers” will seek service, and
how long a service each customer may require. The building of queuing models by means of
observations and study of model properties are the main components of the modern sciences
(Dragan & Jereb, 2014). The limited number of servers is usually the reason for waiting
lines, which are formed when all the customers cannot be served simultaneously (Dragan &
Jereb, 2014). A queueing model is constructed so that queue lengths and waiting times can be
predicted (Sundarapandian, 2009).

Gaps in Existing Knowledge:

This research review aims to help us comprehend and understand the different aspects
presented. Through the years, a significant number of approaches in Queuing Analysis.
However, every case is different from the other. The gap between this study to similar studies
is the application of Queuing Analysis to Jeepney Terminals.
 Research questions

The purpose of this Case study is to help discover and improve the waiting time of
commuters for the Local Commuters at Lapu-Lapu, Cebu city. At this stage in the research, the
waiting time of the commuters will be generally defined as beneficial to them as a ground to
determine the optimal allocation of jeepneys to operate in the terminal. This would help them
improve their system as well as their customer service

Main question
“How would it affect the life of the Local commuters in Lapu-Lapu, If the waiting time for
public transportation is improved?
Sub questions
1. How will the chosen alternative improve the Public Terminal in terms of
Passenger Waiting Time?
2. What are the alternatives that are best to be implemented in the Public Terminal in
Lapu-Lapu City?
 Research Design and Methods
Research Design
This study will utilize a quantitative research method to analyze the current operations of
a Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City. This method will be used in acquiring the following data:
● Arrival and Service Rate of Passengers
● Passenger Waiting Time
● Standard Waiting Time based on the voice of the passengers

Research Methods and Sources

Methods
● Ocular Visits. Researchers will visit the Public Terminal in Lapu-Lapu City to observe
the current operations.
● Stopwatch. A stopwatch is used to measure the passenger waiting time.
● Interview Questionnaire. This will be the main instrument in gathering data based on
the voice of the passengers.
● Data Collection Form. A data collection form is used to record the pieces of information
regarding the Arrival and Service Rate of Passengers, the Passenger Waiting Time, and
the Standard Waiting Time based on the voice of the passengers.

Environment
This study is conducted at a Public Terminal located at Barangay Pajo, Lapu-Lapu City.

Respondents
The data and information needed for this study are gathered and obtained from the
following subjects:
● The Public Terminal Attendant. He/she provides information about the total number of
jeepneys operating in the terminal and the total number of passengers that can be
accommodated.
● Local Commuters. The researchers would be able to gather necessary data regarding the
passenger’s arrival and service rates, as well as their waiting times.

Research schedule
 Research phase
Planning & Designing To be prepared and proceed to the July 3, 2021

Phase next phase

Observation Phase To observe and gather information July 27, 2021

about the way they operate and their

system
Empirical Phase To gather all the data that you've August 15, 2021

collected in your journal

Analytical Phase To analyze the data that is being September 5, 2021

collected from the research

Dissemination Phase To utilize the data for the benefits of September 27, 2021

the local commuters in Lapu-Lapu

References

Lim, J. L. (2020, October 15). Transport budget for infra but none for affected jeepney drivers.

https://www.ibon.org/transport-budget-for-infra-but-none-for-affected-jeepney-drivers/
Lorenciana, C. (2020, August 20). Visayas PUJ operators urged to support PUV modernization.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1112875

Newman, M. (2020, September 18). 170 modern jeepneys to ply Cebu City routes.

https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1115853

Palaubsanon, M. L. (2020, December 15). 4 thousand modernized jeepneys in Cebu in 2021.

https://www.philstar.com/the-freeman/cebu-news/2020/12/15/2063915/4-thousand-

modernized-jeepneys-cebu-2021

Saavedra, J. R. (2020, October 27). Cebu City allows 1, 355 traditional jeepneys to operate

anew. https://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/1119898

Sunio, V., et al. (2019). Analysis of the public transport modernization via system

reconfiguration: The ongoing case in the Philippines. ScienceDirect, 130, 1-19.

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tra.2019.09.004