Easing Cebu road woes: BRT to LRT

Trees on Osmeña Boulevard in Cebu City had been marked for cutting for the BRT project which had been put on hold.—JUNJIE MENDOZA/CEBU DAILY NEWS

CEBU CITY — The implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system in Cebu City has been put on hold pending review of other alternatives in easing Metro Cebu’s road congestion.

One of the alternatives that Socioeconomic Planning Secretary Ernesto Pernia is studying was a Light Rail Transit (LRT)-subway proposal being pushed by Michael Dino, presidential assistant for the Visayas.

Pernia, director general of the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda), said that should the LRT-subway proposal be found viable “economically and financially, then we will go” for it.

Pernia changed his tune on the BRT after meeting Dino on Friday shortly before the Neda chief returned to Manila.

Pernia was here for a regional road show for the Philippine Development Plan 2017-2022 and Central Visayas Regional Development Plan 2017-2022 held at the Cebu Normal University.

In a press conference earlier that day, Pernia told reporters that the BRT project was a go unless Malacañang stopped it.

After he was briefed by Dino, however, Pernia said he agreed to put the BRT project on hold.

Pernia told reporters he thought the proposed LRT project would be above ground throughout the province and Cebu City.

Change of tune

During the briefing given by Dino, Pernia said it became clear that the proposed alternative to the BRT would be an LRT-subway hybrid which Pernia said appealed to him.

When told by Dino that the alternative would have a subway component, Pernia said he found it to be “ideal” and “perfect” for the conditions of Cebu. A feasibility study on the proposal has yet to be completed, though.

Pernia said the BRT, which would replace jeepneys with buses as main mode of public transportation, would further constrict traffic because of the city’s narrow roads.

This was the same contention of transport and engineering expert Rene Santiago when he pushed for LRT instead of BRT as a solution to Metro Cebu’s traffic woes.

BRT proponents, however, insisted that the proposal had already been confirmed viable by feasibility studies.

Dino said Pernia’s statements reinforced the belief that the LRT would be the best mass transport system for Cebu.

He said the Philippines should heed the example of Vietnam, Indonesia, Thailand and India, which are scrapping BRT in favor of LRT.

Best for Cebu

Dino said proponents from Singapore and China, whom he refused to identify, would undertake the LRT-subway project, which was estimated to cost $3 billion and take four years to complete.

A request for additional funding for the BRT is being evaluated.

The cost of the BRT project ballooned to P16.9 billion and was likely to increase once it was implemented.

The initial approved budget for the BRT was P10.6 billion for a 21.5-kilometer route from Barangay Bulacao in the south to Barangay Talamban in the north.

The additional budget was needed to pay for right-of-way acquisitions.