Vallacar Transit

Vallacar Transit Incorporated is a Philippine transportation service under the umbrella of the Yanson Group of Bus Companies , serving as its flagship subsidiary.
The bus company is a family-owned and managed business that has grown from a lone 14-seater jeepney plying a single route called Ceres Liner, to a conglomerate of transportation companies that operates thousands of bus units, operating and serving in the Visayas, as well as the Zamboanga Peninsula in Mindanao. The company pioneered inter-modal services between Negros and Cebu.

History

Dr. Ricardo Y. Yanson Sr. had a 14-seater jeepney that plied the routes in Bacolod and nearby towns in 1968.
Ricardo was fond of experimenting with motor vehicles and had a penchant for automotive body works. He tried his hands and skills in assembling more jeepneys while his wife Olivia managed the warehouse and served as the collector of the daily “boundaries” from their drivers.
Olivia quit her nursing job at a rural health unit in Dumaguete to help her husband run the small business as ‘bodegera’ by day and ‘collector’ at night.
Vallacar was originally owned by the family of Ricardo. However, Vallacar grew because Ricardo was active then, buying second-hand trucks from Manila and rebuilding them as transport units for VTI.
In the 1970s, the Yanson couple diversified into a small bus line which plied the Bacolod-Valladolid-La Carlota route or Val-La-Car for short. It was named Ceres Liner, after Ricardo's younger sister.
Ricardo died in 2015 at age of 86, and left the leadership and management of Vallacar Transit, Incorporated and its conglomerate to his son, Leo Rey Yanson, with the guidance of his wife Olivia.
In 2016, Ceres Liner bought around 70 bus franchises from D' Rough Riders Express. It then formed a new brand as Sugbo Transit which is named after the old name of Cebu, Sugbo. The said branding is under the management of Ceres Liner's Cebu Base, but was discontinued in 2024.
On December 5, 2020, Vallacar Transit Inc. reappoints Leo Rey Yanson as the chairman of the board and president during their firm's annual stockholders meeting at its principal office in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod. During their meeting, it was released that Olivia V. Yanson, Leo Rey V. Yanson, Ginnette Y. Dumancas, Charles M. Dumancas, Anita G. Chua, Arvin John V. Villaruel and Daniel Nicolas Golez were re-elected as members of VTI's board of directors.
A trail-blazer and visionary, self-made transportation tycoon Ricardo and his wife Olivia built an empire from one vehicle to a conglomerate of bus companies and the largest in the Philippines.

Under Leo Rey Yanson's leadership

Vallacar Transit Inc., the country's largest bus company, held its annual stockholders meeting at its principal office in Barangay Mansilingan, Bacolod. In the meeting, VTI disclosed that those reelected as members of its board of directors included Olivia V. Yanson, Leo Rey V. Yanson, Ginnette Y. Dumancas, Charles M. Dumancas, Anita G. Chua, Arvin John V. Villaruel and Daniel Nicolas Golez.
Following the election of directors, the board held an organizational meeting where Leo Rey Yanson was reappointed as chairman of the board and president of VTI, while VTI co-founder Olivia V. Yanson was reappointed as corporate secretary and treasurer.
Under Leo Rey Yanson's leadership, the Yanson Group of Bus Companies is currently composed of more than 4,800 buses, 18,000 employees providing public transportation to around 700,000 people daily in the Philippines.
In November 2025, the Supreme Court of the Philippines ruled against former Vallacar Transit Inc. director Ricardo Yanson Jr., who had fled the country and is considered a fugitive. The court granted VTI’s petition in a grave coercion case, ruling that Ricardo Jr. cannot seek judicial relief while evading legal proceedings. VTI chairman and CEO Leo Rey Yanson welcomed the decision, stating that it reinforced the principle that no one is above the law.
The ruling occurred amid an ongoing family dispute over the estate of YGBC co-founder Ricardo B. Yanson Sr., whose death in 2015 divided the family into two factions. The current VTI board of directors for 2026 includes Olivia Yanson, Leo Rey Yanson, Ginnette Yanson-Dumancas, Charles Dumancas, Anita Chua, Arvin John Villarue, and Daniel Nicolas Golez.
VTI announced plans to accelerate its modernization program in 2026, which includes fleet renewal, customer experience improvements, digital integration, and expanded nationwide connectivity. Leo Rey Yanson described the initiative as part of building a “future-ready transport system” for the Philippines.

Controversies

In June 2020, prosecutors filed a criminal complaint with Bacolod Regional Trial Court Branch 44 against Roy Yanson, Ma. Lourdes Celina Y. Lopez, Ricardo Yanson Jr. and Emily Yanson — the “Yanson 4” — acting as the new VTI officers. They were charged with qualified theft for allegedly seizing several titles and documents from VTI when they tried to take control of the Company in 2019. The VTI management led by Leo Rey Yanson and Olivia Yanson filed the instant certiorari case. On July 30, 2024, the Cebu City Court of Appeals ordered the “Yanson 4” to surrender documents in the pending litigation. The Yanson family and Yanson Group of Bus Companies’ original titles properties and specific documents were ordered placed in custodia legis to maintain the status quo and as evidence in the criminal case.

VTI Brands

Ceres Liner was the first branding under Vallacar Transit Incorporated which was named after the youngest sister of the founder, Ricardo Yanson Sr. As their operations expanded, several brands are added with different functions and area of operations.

Brand	Function / Description
Ceres Liner	The bus brand for non air-conditioned or ordinary fare buses of Vallacar Transit Incorporated.
Ceres Tours	The bus brand for air-conditioned buses of Vallacar Transit Incorporated.
Cebu Interim Bus System	The bus brand for buses that ply intercity Cebu routes, and is co-operated by Vallacar Transit Incorporated and the Cebu City government.
Sugbo Urban	The bus brand for buses that ply Cebu to Siquijor route and is operated by Sugbo Transit Express Inc.
Vallacar Transit Incorporated – Transport Engineering and Bus Body Assembly Plant	The coachbuilding division of Yanson Group of Bus Companies. Although the division serves for the whole YGBC Bus Companies, the management and supervision is under the name of Vallacar Transit Incorporated

Bases

Their subsidiaries are sub-divided by bases. These are based on their area of their operation, and their base number shall be the prefix number for their bus fleets. Yanson Group started this practice in 2005 after they bought out Lilian Express Inc., and felt that re-organizing their company is needed.
There are four bases under Vallacar Transit Incorporated:

Prefix	Base	Address	Subsidiary
5	Bacolod	Mansilingan, Bacolod City	Ceres Liner and Ceres Tours
6	Iloilo	Jaro, Iloilo City	Ceres Liner and Ceres Tours
7	Dumaguete	Calindagan, Dumaguete City	Ceres Liner and Ceres Tours
8	Cebu	Rizal Ave. Ext., Cebu City And Ouano Ave., Mandaue City	Ceres Liner, Ceres Tours, CIBUS, and Sugbo Urban

Destinations

Since the re-organization of Yanson Group of Bus Companies in 2005, Vallacar Transit Inc. is sub-divided into bases in which has different areas of service and destinations.

Bacolod Base

The Bacolod Base is located at Masilingan, Bacolod with its terminal hub at Ceres Bus Liner North Terminal, Mandalagan, Bacolod and at Bacolod South Terminal, Luzuriaga St, Bacolod. It is also the main base for Vallacar Transit Incorporated. The base is assigned as Base 5 of Yanson Group of Bus Companies. Their routes are from Bacolod to the rest of the Negros Island Region, Cebu and Zamboanga City.
From North branch

Bacolod – Cebu City via Escalante/Tabuelan
Bacolod – Victorias City
Bacolod – Cadiz
Bacolod – Sagay City/Vito
Bacolod – Escalante
Bacolod – Minapasuk, Calatrava
Bacolod – San Carlos City via Cadiz
Bacolod – San Carlos City via Salvador Benedicto
Bacolod – San Carlos City via Bug-Ang, Toboso
Bacolod – Quezon
Bacolod – Canlaon via San Carlos
Bacolod – Dumaguete via Escalante/San Carlos
Bacolod – Zamboanga City via Cadiz/San Carlos City/Dumaguete/Dipolog/Ipil/Dapitan

Loop Service

San Carlos City - Canlaon

From South branch

Bacolod – Cebu City via Toledo City/Salvador Benedicto/San Carlos City
Bacolod – Cebu City via Canlaon/Bulado /Tangil
Bacolod – Cebu City via Kabankalan City/Mabinay
Bacolod – Dumaguete via Kabankalan City/Mabinay
Bacolod – La Carlota
Bacolod – La Castellana
Bacolod – Ma-ao, Bago
Bacolod – Pontevedra
Bacolod – Canlaon via Magallon
Bacolod – Canlaon via Biak na Bato
Bacolod – Kabankalan
Bacolod – Inapoy, Kabankalan
Bacolod – Bantayan, Kabankalan
Bacolod – Sikatuna via Isabela
Bacolod – Sikatuna, Isabela via Binalbagan
Bacolod – Narra
Bacolod – Sipalay via Cauayan
Bacolod – Sipalay via Candoni
Bacolod – Bactolon
Bacolod – Hinoba-an
Bacolod – Candoni
Bacolod – Binalbagan
Bacolod – Bayawan
Bacolod – Zamboanga City via Kabankalan City/Mabinay/Dumaguete/Dipolog/Ipil/Dapitan
Iloilo Base

Iloilo Base is located at Jaro, Iloilo City with three terminal hubs at the new Ceres Terminal, Brgy. Balantang, Jaro, Iloilo City, Iloilo – Antique Bus Terminal at San Pedro St, Molo, Iloilo City and Festive Walk Transport Terminal, Iloilo Business Park, Mandurriao, Iloilo City. The base is assigned as Base 6 of Yanson Group of Bus Companies. Their routes are from the cities of Iloilo and Roxas to the rest of Western Visayas.
Northern lines: From Ceres Terminal, Jaro, Iloilo City

Iloilo City – Barotac Viejo
Iloilo City – Concepcion via Sara/Ajuy
Iloilo City - San Dionisio via Ajuy/Sara/Concepcion
Iloilo City – Balasan
Iloilo City – Estancia via Balasan
Iloilo City – Carles

Central lines: via Passi City

Iloilo City – Passi
Iloilo City – Calinog via Passi City
Iloilo City – Roxas City via Passi City
Iloilo City – Kalibo via Passi City
Iloilo City – Caticlan via Kalibo

Central lines: From Festive Walk Transport Terminal, Iloilo Business Park, Mandurriao, Iloilo City

Iloilo City – Kalibo International Airport
Iloilo City – Caticlan Airport via Kalibo
Iloilo City – Iloilo International Airport

Central lines: From Pavia Transport Terminal, Pavia, Iloilo

Iloilo City – Roxas City via Calinog, Tapaz, Dumalag
Iloilo City – Kalibo via Calinog/Tapaz/Jamindan
Iloilo City – Jamindan via Calinog/Tapaz
Iloilo City – Tapaz via Calinog

Antique lines: From San Pedro, Molo Terminal, Iloilo City

Iloilo City – Caticlan via San Jose
Iloilo City – Kalibo via San Jose/Culasi/Pandan/Libertad
Iloilo City – Culasi
Iloilo City – Pandan
Iloilo City – Libertad
Iloilo City – Bugasong
Iloilo City – San Jose via Tobias Fornier/Anini-y/Casay
Iloilo City – Dao via Anini-y

Loop Service: Plying Roxas City-Estancia

Roxas City – Estancia
Roxas City – Balasan via President Roxas/Pilar