The Comfort of a Benz in a Bus

Mercedes Benz has been producing quality transport vehicles way back in the early 1900’s. In Bicol, the first fleets of Mercedes Benz buses were originally introduced by JB lines of Legazpi City. That was when the said bus company ruled the highways of the south in the early 1970s to late 90s. If you want to travel fast, take JB Lines, though majority or their fleets then were not air-conditioned, it doesn’t matter then, it’s Mercedes Benz.


In 2008, Penafrancia Tours introduced their own power fleets of luxury Mercedes Benz buses. This time, the series of Benz buses are all air-conditioned topped with their lazy boy designer seats, LCD television on board, DVD and individual reading lamps. With a maximum capacity of 23 seats (as opposed to the standard air conditioned bus capacity of 44), the Benz series of Penafrancia Tours offer passengers maximum comfort for the 8 hours journey to Manila or Bicol. Passengers need not worry of nature calls while on board for the bus has a classy comfort room inside. I have to mention, the bus has only one stop, the 24-hour Mc Donald’s of Villa Escudero at Tiaong, Quezon Province.


Since its launch, I prefer to travel with the Benz series. Aside from the comfort it offers, the price is reasonably pegged at P880 to P980 only depending on the class (Benz Elite, Benz Deluxe, Comfortec) you are in. You are assured of a good night sleep since these buses are equipped air-suspension systems that allows the bus to travel at high speed without the worry of shaking your seats if it passes through a path hole. You can control the air-conditioning system by shutting down your vent if it gets really cold and you can choose to seat at the single side or at the double side seat depending on your mood. I am always at the single side, one, I always travel alone, two, I think (I still refuse to admit it) I snore in my sleep, to avoid disturbing my seatmate, I’d rather be alone at the right side of the bus. Come to think of it, if I do really snore, I should not be worried of my seatmate alone; I need to be more worried about the other 21 passengers who surely are awaken by my midnight serenade. If ever I do. But I think I don’t.


One important criteria of commuting is the ability to determine the safety standards of a utility company. As far as I am concerned, Penafrancia Tours, the Benz Series in particular, has the lowest reported accident rate among the hundreds of buses flying Manila and Bicol everyday. This reflects the commitment of the company to passenger safety, but again the data is not perpetual, passenger safety is a continuing effort of consistency and discipline, there is no room for any single mistake. If there is, then I would have to re-write this all over again.


Travelling is fun. I learned to enjoy it faster than I reached my destination. Planned or unplanned, ready or not, with or without baggage (except for the laptop) doesn’t make any difference to me now. The most important part is that I am travelling with all the comforts of a Mercedes Benz in a Bus.