The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is targeting to start the partial operation of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project within the year to respond to the need for mobility amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Arthur Tugade, transportation secretary, ordered the Cebu BRT project management team and other concerned transportation officials to implement a 24/7 construction work schedule, with three work shifts that will employ and generate jobs for more local residents of the province.
Tugade also directed them to make sure the project’s work schedule and timeline of completion will be aligned with the election ban next year, and that the procurement process should be fast-tracked.
In his meeting with the Cebu BRT project management team, Tugade was informed that the first package is already at the procurement stage, which covers the 2.6-kilometer busway with four stations, urban realm enhancement and vital intersection improvements.
The 13.2-km. BRT lane will traverse the South Road Properties (SRP) through Mambaling up to IT Park, with 17 stations, two terminals and one depot.
Along with the BRT, there will be a 20.2-km. bus feeder system to run with mixed traffic, complemented with sidewalk bus stops/shelters along the following routes: Cebu IT Park-Talamban, Mambaling-Bulacao and Talisay-SRP.
On its completion and once fully operational, the Cebu BRT aims to serve around 60,000 passengers daily.
Tugade said the realization of the Cebu BRT will improve passenger mobility along the project’s corridors. It will also provide an option that is swift, comfortable, cost-effective and efficient, and will generate fewer emissions that reduce both local and global pollution.
Meanwhile, in another meeting, Tugade discussed with Michael Lloyd Dino, presidential assistant for the Visayas, the progress of transport infrastructure projects in the region.
The two officials agreed on the need to fast-track critical transport infrastructure projects, including the Cebu BRT, to enable the region’s economy to recover amid the effects of the pandemic. – Myla Iglesias
