Boracay boat commuters to pay higher fares

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

Boat fares for passengers travelling between Boracay Island and Caticlan will be increased by 100 percent  by Caticlan Boracay Transport Multi-Purpose Cooperative (CBTMPC).

PHOTO AKLAN FORUM JOURNAL

The cooperative is the sole public boat transport group operating the Caticlan to Boracay Island route and vice versa. It has 60 motorized bancas and five fiberglass vessels plying the route.

The fare hike to counter rising fuel costs will affect passengers entering the Caticlan jetty port to White Beach boat stations.

A notice for change for passenger rate was filed by CBTMPC chairman Godofredo Sadiasa  and duly approved by Maritime Industry Authority (Marina) in Iloilo City on October 10. 

The boat stations in Main Beach were designated temporarily by Boracay Inter-Agency Task Force (BIATF) since the widening of Boracay main road and construction of drainage systems are ongoing.

In effect, the one-entry one-exit policy will be suspended indefinitely with the new disembarking and embarking points in Boracay Island.

Tourists, residents and guests who will disembark to White Beach boat station 2 (Balabag) and boat station 3 (Manoc-Manoc) from Caticlan jetty port in mainland Malay will pay P50 from the previous P25. Motorized pumpboats operators will also charged P1,200 for one-way chartered trip to Boracay Island.    

Students will be enjoying discount fare of P42.50 and senior citizens and persons with disability will have to pay P40.

The boat stations will accommodate passengers from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. only and will shift to Manoc-Manoc cargo area for the night navigation.

Likewise, passengers who will take Caticlan jetty port reclamation area-Manoc-Manoc cargo area route during day-time navigation will still pay the old boat fare of P25. 

During night navigation, the boat fare will remain at P30 per passenger from Caticlan jetty port to Manoc-Manoc cargo area only and vice versa.

The transport cooperative targets to implement the fare hike after publication of its notice to any newspaper of local circulation in time for the Boracay re-opening on October 26.