Tomas: City's BRT to be patterned after Bogota's

CEBU, Philippines - Now that he has seen the real deal, Mayor Tomas Osmeña said Cebu City will have a localized version of Bogota’s Bus Rapid Transit System.

Osmeña, in an interview at the VIP Lounge of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport yesterday, said his three-day trip to Colombia was very successful.

“It was very nice, Bogota’s BRT is more sophisticated and modern than in Curitiba (Brazil), there are variations,” Osmeña said.

Osmeña spent three days in Colombia upon the invitation of former Bogota mayor Enrique Peñalosa, prior to his checkup at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas.

He observed Bogota’s TransMilenio and then Pereira City’s Megabus BRT. Pereira City is as big as Cebu City.

“Ours will be localized, we will have some adjustments here,” Osmeña said.

The World Bank had already expressed willingness to fund the entire project. It initially released $235,000 under the Private Public Infrastructure Advisory Facility for an initial study which is set to start next month.

The BRT will cut through the heart of the South Road Properties and include Lapu-Lapu City, Talisay City and Mandaue City.

But only Mandaue City had signified interest to join the said project by issuing a resolution choosing the BRT as their public transportation mode.

Talisay City is supporting the thrust of Cebu City 1st District Rep. Eduardo Gullas which is for a Light Rail Transit similar to Manila.

A BRT is like a train station but buses ply the route instead of trains. – Ferliza C. Contratista/BRP (THE FREEMAN)