The story
GV Florida Transport, Inc., founded in 1999 by Virgilio Florida and his son George Florida and Virgilio Florida Jr., is a popular bus company in Cagayan, Ilocos and Quirino provinces. The company offers comfortable and stylish travel experiences with its distinctive flowery pink livery on its buses. Equipped with amenities like reclining seats, air conditioning, and onboard entertainment systems, it ferries goods and passengers from Metro Manila to the Cagayan Valley Region and Ilocos Region, as well as inter-provincial routes.
Early expansion and Growth
G.V. Florida Transport expanded its transportation industry presence by acquiring franchises from various bus companies, including F. Franco Transit, B. Trans, Autobus Transportation, Viva Alladin, Ballesteros Bus Line, and Dagupan Bus Company's Cagayan line. The expansion enhanced the service offerings and positioned G.V. Florida Transport as a key player in the sector, offering convenient and reliable travel options for passengers in Cordillera (with the acquisition of Autobus' remaining routes), Ilocos, Cagayan Valley, and Isabela regions.
In early 2000's, G.V. Florida Transport is the first Philippine bus company to introduce the "Sleeper Class" with Golden Dragon, Higer, and Hino RM sleeper buses servicing Manila-Cagayan and Manila-Ilocos routes. Meanwhile, a sister company as well as a subsidiary, GMW Florida Trans Inc. (GMW TRANS.), is operated by the other siblings of George and serves Santiago-Cauayan-Tuguegarao-Laoag, Tuguegarao-Baguio via San Jose, Nueva Ecija, Bayombong, and Tuguegarao–Abra via Bantay/Vigan routes.
2011: Expansion and Modernization
In 2011, GV Florida Transport expanded its fleet by purchasing six units of MAN R39 18.350 for its Super Deluxe fleet and 20 Exclusively Modified PHI Grandeza RM for its Deluxe and Super Deluxe fleets. In 2013, they acquired the DM14 Series with Hino RM chassis for their Deluxe and Super Deluxe fleets.
2014: The "Dark Year" of GV Florida
On the early morning of February 7, 2014, GV Florida experienced one of its darkest years in its history when one of its bus fell into a ravine in Sitio Pagang, Barangay Talubin in Bontoc. It was carrying 45 people on board. Fourteen people were killed, including one Dutch and one Canadian national, and Filipino comedian & actor Tado Jimenez. The accident occurred due to brake failure, causing the bus to lose control and veer off the road. Rescue teams were immediately dispatched to the scene to provide medical assistance and transport the injured survivors to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The Land Transportation Franchising Regulatory Board (LTFRB) imposed a 30-day preventive suspension on all of the company's 186 bus units on February 10, 2014, three days after the incident. The incident referred to was a fatal bus accident that resulted in multiple casualties. Later the LTFRB's decided to suspend all of the remaining company's bus units to ensure a thorough investigation and assessment of the company's safety protocols and compliance with regulations.
Recovery, further expansion and contemporary history
After the Supreme Court lifted its suspension, GV Florida returned to service. In anticipation of demands of travelling market, GV Florida Transport continues to expand further its fleet with the acquisition of newer and modern bus units such as Higer U-Tour Series, additional batches of Hino RM2PSS platform showcasing modern bus body design such as Hino Grandecho II Series by Hino Motors Philippines Inc. and DM16 Series 1 by Del Monte Motor Works, Inc.
It also paved way in acquisition and/or launching various companies starting the introduction of its subsidiary, Transport Pro Services Inc. (from the remnants of B. Trans and F. Franco) which serves the Ilocos Region. Also, GV Florida strengthened its presence in the inter-provincial routes especially in Cordillera Region with the absorption of St. Joseph Express, Gabriel Trans and later, Dangwa Transport, along with GMW Trans, to its group of companies. Unlike previous company acquisitions, these five companies continue to operate alongside the parent company, GV Florida as separate brands.
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In addition, GV Florida Transport has also introduced Zhongtong Bus to its fleet with custom bodies made by Pura Bus, an in-house body building of GV Florida Transport.
In 2019, GV Florida added the Hino RN8J in its fleet utilizing the new Hino Grandeza II and Del Monte Motorworks' DM16 series 1 body. On the 4th Quarter of 2023 and early 2024, as part of its major re-fleeting program, GV Florida Transport formally launched the "Executive Class", an upgraded Super Deluxe and Sleeper service, together with another expansion of its bus fleet with the introduction of Scania K series platform and the bus body is built by Del Monte Motorworks, and later its in-house bodybuilder, Pura Bus, utilizing the DM22T, DM23 and DM24 bus body. GV Florida also revived the "Executive Deluxe" with the introduction of Higer KLQ6127LA "Tourist" and Higer KLQ6126LY "Higer V12" in its fleet, that later spawned new bus model developed by Pura Bus and was based from Higer V12 as its core design.
On June 10, 2025, DOTr suspends 15 bus units covering the routes Sta. Ana–Sampaloc and Baguio–Apayao for 30 days, following the viral video bus allegedly caught in the act racing with each other in the area of Nueva Vizcaya, which was uploaded on June 8. Following the suspension, DOTr decided that three drivers revoked their licenses.
In 2026, all of its interprovincial subsidiaries, GMW Trans, St. Joseph and Gabriel Trans were consolidated into one company, the Florida North Trans O.P.C.
From Wikipedia’s article on GV Florida Transport, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.4