Passenger traffic at the Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange (PITX) is expected to swell mid-week as more Filipinos choose to commute rather than use private vehicles for the Holy Week break, a terminal official said.

PITX spokesperson Jason Salvador explained that the terminal is preparing for a surge on Holy Wednesday, traditionally the busiest day for outbound travelers. 

But this year’s spike, he noted, may be partly driven by a change in behavior among motorists.

“Mas mataas po ngayon ‘yung ridership,” Salvador said, adding that the increase may be due to more people opting for public transport instead of driving. 

“Nakita natin ‘yung trend na mas marami ang nagko-commute kaysa gumamit ng private vehicle.”

He said workers who still report to the office until mid-week are also expected to crowd the terminal once they clock out.

“Most of our daily wage earners still have to go to work, they just have to finish their day’s work. That’s why it really goes up Wednesday afternoon until evening and then it continues on Thursday, it keeps going up,” he told reporters.

The anticipated surge follows last year’s Holy Wednesday turnout of nearly 200,000 passengers at PITX, a number that transport officials say could be matched — or surpassed — this week.

Salvador urged passengers to plan ahead and expect longer queues.

“If you don’t make an advanced booking, that particular bus line doesn’t know it’s going to be full… You’ll have to wait for it to be full before deploying and that would result in a longer queue, a longer waiting time,” Salvador explained.

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