By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The number of fast craft trips plying the Bacolod-Iloilo route has increased as travel demand also increases after travel restrictions are now slowly being lifted nationwide.

In a radio interview over the weekend, Frank Carbon, operator of Weesam Express, announced that starting Thursday, December 2, they will have two round trips from Monday to Saturday.

Carbon said trip schedules for Weesam Express are 6:30 a.m. and 1:10 p.m. departing Iloilo City and 8:10 a.m. and 2:15 p.m. departing Bacolod City.

Meanwhile, OceanJet Fast Ferry Corporation has also increased the number of trips for their Bacolod-Iloilo route.

Based on the schedule they have posted on their official social media page, they now have a total of four round trips.

Bacolod to Iloilo trip schedules are at 5:45 a.m. (no Sunday), 8:50 a.m., 1:00 p.m., and 4:00 p.m.; Iloilo to Bacolod trips, meanwhile, are at 7:20 a.m. (no Sunday), 11:00 a.m., 2:30 p.m., and 5:30 p.m.

Previously, fast craft operators plying the said route have expressed their hesitance to resume operations due to low passenger numbers brought by the COVID-19 travel restrictions.

However, Carbon said they are now expecting more passengers to travel in December and they are also hoping that both Bacolod City and Iloilo City will be downgraded to Alert Level 1 due to the continued drop in COVID-19 cases in both cities./DGB, WDJ