Different transport groups in Cebu expressed concern on the city government’s plan to implement a Bus Rapid Transit system in the city and the proposal to have a light rail transit in Metro Cebu.
They said that while this kind of transport system is beneficial to the commuters, since this means speed and convenience, the drivers and operators of public utility vehicles especially jeepneys and tricycles are also in danger of being dislocated.
Alex Bordadora, chairman of the Visayas United Drivers Transport Cooperative, said they have nothing against the mass transport system because it is part of progress but said the government should also look at the welfare of the rest of the transport sector.
“Sa paglambo sa transport system dili unta mawani ang ubang tawo nga naay kalabotan sa transport. If ma-dislocate unya ang mga drivers, asa man ibutang sa gobyerno kining mga tawhana?” he asked.
Bordadora said he is concerned because most of the investors that fund the mass transport systems are only after profit and do not look at the interest of the sectors affected.
Ryan Yu, managing director of the Cebu Integrated Transport Service Cooperative, agreed with Bordadora saying that during the implementing stage of the mass transport system the government should have a program for the affected drivers.
He doubts that the city is ready for the implementation of the BRT because the roads in the city are narrow and not designed for the implementation of the mass transport system.
Mayor Tomas Osmeña wants to pilot the implementation of a BRT system in the Banilad area to decongest traffic.
The mayor earlier said that in a BRT system, buses are stairless and that passengers will only ride in designated terminals. Buses of this kind are not allowed to pick up or unload passengers in non-designated areas, thereby lessening the traffic. This kind of transport system is patterned after the BRT system of Curitiba, Brazil.
Osmeña said that once the system is fully implemented, no more PUJs - and even private vehicles - would be allowed to pass by the area.
But Rex Tidalgo, provincial coordinator of the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbo, said that they suspect the officials in Cebu are now starting to implement the mass transit system in Cebu.
He said that in fact, the many drivers are now suffering because of the KMK buses that ply the routes of Minglanilla to SM and vice-versa.
“Ila nang gihinay-hinay’g implementar na karon ang mass transport kay gusto nila natural ang paghunong sa mga operators, nga sila (operators) na mismo mo-quit kay apektado sila sa mga buses,” Tidalgo said.
Likewise, he said that House Bill 0214 was filed in 2004 seeking to create the Metro Cebu Traffic Authority, which will function like the Metro Manila Development Authority.
Different transport groups yesterday attended a forum-discussion on the proposed mass transport system in Cebu held at CENDET.
City Planning and Development coordinator Nigel Paul Villarete was one of the invited speakers but he was not able to come because he fell ill.
In a telephone interview, Villarete said that the proposed BRT system in Banilad cannot be implemented soon because the city has just submitted its formal request to the World Bank to study the proposal.
“The displacement of drivers and things like that are also to be addressed. But it does not mean that if they will be displaced, di na lang ta mag-implement. As we progress, there are also changes in the mode of transportation,” he said.
Villarete also said that he understands the concern of the drivers and operators but “by simply objecting to it will only compound the problem.”
Meanwhile, the Cebu City Police Office will be fielding policemen on the streets tomorrow for the rumored transport strike.
Sr. Supt. Patrocinio Comendador told reporters that he already instructed the Traffic Group to identify possible chokepoints where members of the hardliner transport groups may post themselves to convince other drivers to join them.
Piston, a transport group in Manila, has announced that they will be staging a nationwide strike among its sub-group members in protest of the continued rise in oil prices in the world market calling the scrapping of the Oil Deregulation Law.
But the Piston sub-group in Cebu, the Nagkahiusang Drayber sa Sugbu, has yet to meet with its chapter leaders to discuss what sort of protest they will staging tomorrow, if any.
Nadsu Secretary General Ruben Rama in a telephone interview told The FREEMAN that their group has not yet finalized their plans for tomorrow’s transport strike but said they would surely have one to support the calls of various groups in the country against the rising cost of fuel.
Rama said they will demand for the implementation of the P7.50 minimum fare for the first four kilometers and one peso for every succeeding kilometer as agreed in 2004 by the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board-7. — Wenna A. Berondo and Edwin Ian Melecio/MEEV