2Go reopens GenSan passenger ferry route

GENERAL SANTOS CITY -- Leading inter-island passenger ferry company 2Go Travel reopened its ferry route here Monday, six years after ceasing its operations in the area.

2Go Travel’s MV St. Michael the Archangel docked for the first time at the Makar port here early Monday as part of its maiden voyage from Davao to Manila.

Residents and local officials welcomed the vessel’s arrival, signaling the revival of the ferry route and commercial passenger vessel operations in the city.   

Vice Mayor Shirlyn Banas-Nograles, who led the welcome entourage, said the reopening of the route was an offshoot of the local government’s continuing efforts to draw more investors to the city.

“This complements our initiatives to position GenSan as the main gateway of Region 12 (Soccsksargen)," she said.

She committed the city government’s full support to the company’s operations, noting that the City Council has put in place attractive investment policies that “make the city a sound place to start a business.”

Commercial passenger ferry companies were forced to close the route six years ago mainly due to low passenger volume.

It was mainly triggered by the opening of more flights to and from the city by the Philippine Airlines and budget carrier Cebu Pacific.

2Go has initially scheduled two stops a month in the city and will initially use two passenger vessels -- MV St. Michael the Archangel and MV St. Leo the Great.

MV St. Michael the Archangel, which can carry a total of 1,929 passengers, will serve the Davao-General Santos-Zamboanga-Manila route and vice versa.

The 1,254-capacity MV St. Leo the Great, meanwhile, will serve the Davao-General Santos-Zamboanga-Iloilo-Manila route.

To attract passengers, the company has offered discounted fare rates for the routes for as low as PHP1,200 for a single voyage. (PNA)