Guide to Bohol's Public Transport

31 May 2010
Posted in BoholLife Blog - Getting Around in Bohol

Travelling around Bohol is really quite an easy experience even for the non seasoned visitor. There are buses, V-Hires (minibus), jeepneys, tricycles and habal-habal motorbikes. The main bus and jeepney terminals can be found at ICM (Island City Mall) and Marcela Mall, Cogon. From these locations you can basically get public transport to the furthest reaches of the island.

Much of the public transport is looks like it has seen better days and would certainly not get a certificate of roadworthiness in Europe or the States. One just has to accept that in the Philippines that’s how it is and on the whole it works.

Tricycles - For fairly short journeys the tricycle is the preferred method. They can present a slight challenge for the larger built among us (including myself), but on the whole they are a cheap, reliable and plentiful. The typical rate for a short journey starts at around 7 pesos (for a local) but will in most cases go up if you're a foreigner. I often ask for the price before the trip, if its to high then I will decline and take one of the others coming along the street.

Jeepney - These come in many shapes and sizes and work on pre-determined routes . Like the tricycle you can hop on and off where you like. You can flag the jeepney down almost anywhere along its route and when you want to get off you just make a loud noise or tap the inside of the roof. The typical jeepneys are powered by small 650cc three cylinder Suzuki engines so high speed is not one of their strong points, thankfully. The routes are painted on the side, so it's not to hard working out which one you need to jump aboard

A Jeepney will cost around 8 pesos flat fare, however some routes are very long and can cost you a little more. If you catch a jeepney at one of the terminals be prepared to wait as it will not leave until it is full. Now full really means full over here and can take a bit of getting used to, still they are plentiful and offer a cheap way to get about.

V-Hire - Basically a minibus carrying in excess of 15-18 people during the rush hour period. They run on designated routes and I believe should only pick up passengers at the start and end points of the routes. That said like the Jeepney they seem to stop wherever you want them to. This is certainly a faster way to travel when compared to jeepneys and busses but can be extremely packed and the drivers are typically very aggressive on the road.

As with Jeepneys they typically will not leave until completely full, so be prepared to wait a while. V-Hire fares vary depending on the route but can be 50pesos upwards for some of the longer trips.

Taxi - You can always take a taxi as they offer a good alternative to the other transport options mentioned, if only that you have the thing to yourself. Tagbilaran does not appear to have that many taxis and I don’t see many when walking around town. As to be expected they can be found near the malls, airport and ferry terminals. I have never used a taxi in the year I been living here, but like Cebu you see nice new looking cabs and some that look as if they should be scrapped.

I believe the rate from the ferry terminal to Panglao is in the region of 500 pesos, not so bad when you consider a tricycle will be in the region of 300++.