No more riding expensive taxis @ Clark
I heard that Clark is the cheapest gateway if you are planning on travelling to Asia and back. Diosdado Macapagal International Airport inside the former Clark Air Base (now Clark Special Economic Zone) offers cheap airplane fares compared to NAIA. Unfortunately, in the previous years, it was not the same if you are going to Clark via public transport.
Fortunately, for those who are considering flying out of the country through Clark in the future, we can now avoid those expensive taxis. Before, the most convenient public transport available is riding the Philtranco bus (currently, Partas and Genesis bus companies also has Clark routes but you have to check with their terminals) bound straight to the Clark Airport. They have terminal at SM Megamall for pick-up of passengers from Manila and travel time is shorter because of the NLEX and SCTEX and no stopovers compared to provincial buses. But the fare is actually twice more than the prevailing amount of regular buses. Maybe because airport roads are much more expensive and well-maintained, or because this is the Philippines - we charge extremely high for our fellow Filipinos who “could afford” riding on an airplane. Another option is to ride the regular bus to Dau (Mabalacat Bus Terminal), walk with your bag in tow for a couple hundred meters until you see jeepneys with SM Clark signboard, or ask any tricycle from the terminal to bring you to SM Clark Passenger Terminal and ride a taxi to the airport. The taxis are all fixed rate, mind you. No calibrated meters like the ones you see in Metropolitan Manila. Some of them don’t even have taxi names like their imaginative Manila counterparts. The current fixed rate is Php 300.00, the distance is almost like from Makati Central Business District to NAIA… but without the traffic. I still consider it expensive, coming from me who prefers getting snarled in traffic inside an uncomfortable bus rather than paying expensive taxi fares.
DMIA has introduced their public transport system just this summer - the King of the Road, slightly modified. Now, they have air-conditioned jeepneys that can fetch you from Dau Bus Terminal to Clark Airport, and back. I have tried this last weekend, and they have better air-conditioning system than most taxis. The jeepneys are clean inside and outside, although they look like your typical SUV stretched at the middle part. The drivers are all wearing shoes and are in uniform, although slightly patterned after Lito Atienza’s famous outfit. They are parked near the arrival area of Clark, in line with the buses and taxis.
If you are coming from Manila, you can ride any provincial bus which is stopping over at Dau Bus Terminal. From there you can ask where the FX/Van terminal is and you can see those Clark Jeepneys after the Bocaue and Olongapo/Bataan bound vans. Do not believe what the tricycle drivers are telling you. There is a jeepney to Clark. You just have to look for it near Mister Donut and Jollibee establishments, and at the back of the FX/public vans. The tricycle drivers will tell you otherwise and will suggest that they bring you to the nearest taxi stand. In DMIA’s website, it says that the jeepney fare to Dau Terminal is Php 45.00 while Php 30.00 to SM Clark. I was charged Php 50.00 pesos up to SM Clark when I rode the jeepney but still, that is dirt cheap if you compare that to the Php 300.00 taxi fare and Php 70.00 tricycle fare that was charged to me earlier.
Fortunately, for those who are considering flying out of the country through Clark in the future, we can now avoid those expensive taxis. Before, the most convenient public transport available is riding the Philtranco bus (currently, Partas and Genesis bus companies also has Clark routes but you have to check with their terminals) bound straight to the Clark Airport. They have terminal at SM Megamall for pick-up of passengers from Manila and travel time is shorter because of the NLEX and SCTEX and no stopovers compared to provincial buses. But the fare is actually twice more than the prevailing amount of regular buses. Maybe because airport roads are much more expensive and well-maintained, or because this is the Philippines - we charge extremely high for our fellow Filipinos who “could afford” riding on an airplane. Another option is to ride the regular bus to Dau (Mabalacat Bus Terminal), walk with your bag in tow for a couple hundred meters until you see jeepneys with SM Clark signboard, or ask any tricycle from the terminal to bring you to SM Clark Passenger Terminal and ride a taxi to the airport. The taxis are all fixed rate, mind you. No calibrated meters like the ones you see in Metropolitan Manila. Some of them don’t even have taxi names like their imaginative Manila counterparts. The current fixed rate is Php 300.00, the distance is almost like from Makati Central Business District to NAIA… but without the traffic. I still consider it expensive, coming from me who prefers getting snarled in traffic inside an uncomfortable bus rather than paying expensive taxi fares.
DMIA has introduced their public transport system just this summer - the King of the Road, slightly modified. Now, they have air-conditioned jeepneys that can fetch you from Dau Bus Terminal to Clark Airport, and back. I have tried this last weekend, and they have better air-conditioning system than most taxis. The jeepneys are clean inside and outside, although they look like your typical SUV stretched at the middle part. The drivers are all wearing shoes and are in uniform, although slightly patterned after Lito Atienza’s famous outfit. They are parked near the arrival area of Clark, in line with the buses and taxis.
If you are coming from Manila, you can ride any provincial bus which is stopping over at Dau Bus Terminal. From there you can ask where the FX/Van terminal is and you can see those Clark Jeepneys after the Bocaue and Olongapo/Bataan bound vans. Do not believe what the tricycle drivers are telling you. There is a jeepney to Clark. You just have to look for it near Mister Donut and Jollibee establishments, and at the back of the FX/public vans. The tricycle drivers will tell you otherwise and will suggest that they bring you to the nearest taxi stand. In DMIA’s website, it says that the jeepney fare to Dau Terminal is Php 45.00 while Php 30.00 to SM Clark. I was charged Php 50.00 pesos up to SM Clark when I rode the jeepney but still, that is dirt cheap if you compare that to the Php 300.00 taxi fare and Php 70.00 tricycle fare that was charged to me earlier.
