Bridging the Gap
Transportation services in Iloilo City, 1930s
Iloilo City became known as the 'Queen City of the South' in the 1900s up to the 1930s. It was the second city of great importance in the country, next to Manila. Due to its position, it served as the commercial and entertainment capital of Western Visayas. It was also raised to the status of a chartered city in 1937 by the Commonwealth government.
As 'Queen City', what services were available in it that made it worthy of its title?
First of all, Iloilo City was the birthplace of Filipino enterprise in commercial air transportation. It was, therefore, the operational base of the first commercial airline company in the Philippines - the Iloilo - Negros Air Express Co. (INAEC). It operated the famous Stinson Trimotor planes, as well as the amphibian airliner Sikorsky S-48. It had regular routes between Iloilo and Manila, Cebu, Davao, Del Monte (also in Davao), Bacolod, and La Carlota. INAEC advertised its air travels as 'fast, commodious, elegant and reliant'.
Iloilo was also famous for its shipping lines. The De La Rama Steamship Co., Inc. operated inter-island vessels and steamers destined to the United States and the North Atlantic ports. Its 'S/S Iloilo' was assigned in the Iloilo-Romblon-Manila route, while the 'M/V Pulupandan' covered the Iloilo Pulupandan run. It also has inter-island steamers like the 'M/S Kanlaon' and 'M/S Mambukal'. The jewel of the fleet was the 'M/V Don Esteban', undoubtedly the most luxurious vessel in the local inter-island service in the 1930s. Passenger fares in the Iloilo-Manila route in the De La Rama Steamship Co. boats in 1934 were the following:
| 1st class with cabin | P 20.00 |
| 1st class without cabin | P 15.00 |
| Student rate | P 13.00 |
| 3rd class | P 8.00 |
For the Iloilo-Pulupandan run, the fare rates were:
| 1st class | P 0.70 |
| 3rd class | P 0.30 |
Compania Maritima, another giant in water transportation had two steamships assigned to the Iloilo-Manila run, with stop-overs in Cebu and Pulupandan. 'S/S Corregidor' covered the Iloilo-Cebu-Manila route, while 'S/S Negros', the Iloilo Pulupandan-Manila run. Compania Maritima's fare rates in 1935 were the following:
| Iloilo to | Manila |
Cebu |
| 1st class | P 31.30 |
P 18.10 |
| 2nd class | P 21.90 |
P 12.65 |
| 3rd class | P 12.50 |
P 7.25 |
| Discounts of 10% for round trip tickets | ||
It appears that De La Rama's rates were lower than Compania Maritima, but the former's rates were based on the direct Iloilo-Manila run, while the latter had stopovers in Cebu or Pulupandan.
Another Iloilo-based shipping line was the Negros Navigation Co. whose main office was in Blumetritt St., Iloilo City. It operated the boat 'M/V Princess go Negros' in the Iloilo-Silay line, the 'M/V Marapara' in the Iloilo-Cebu via San Carlos, Guihulngan, Bais and Dumaguete run, and the M/V San Carlos' (Hoi Fook) in the Iloilo-Silay, Escalante, San Carlos, Bais, Dumaguete and Cebu route.
Iloilo City was furthermore the home of modern land transportation in the 1930s. It had plentiful of buses and taxis plying various points within the city and its districts. The conglomerate of People's Bus, Filipino Transit and Iloilo Transportation operated the Blue Bus, Green Bus and Yellow Bus that charged the passengers only a five centavo fare within Iloilo and its districts. It also operated the Yellow Taxi and the Bantam Taxi.
Then, there were the Jaro Express Co., Inc. with its main office in Jaro, Iloilo City. It operated taxis and double-decked buses. The company advertised its buses and taxis as 'beautiful and commodious, economical, with fast and courteous service'. Its taxis were of the Chevrolet and Willy's brands.
For out of the city destinations, there was the Panay Autobus Co., the largest of the bus companies operating in Iloilo and the whole island of Panay. In 1937, it has 316 commodious, clean and comfortable autobuses, at least in the standards of that time, that plied every accessible road in the island.