House to probe BRT project delay

MANILA, Philippines - The House of Representatives is set to conduct an inquiry into the delays of the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project along Metro Manila’s major roads amid the rising costs of traffic gridlocks on the economy and the environment.

The congressional investigation was prompted by Resolution 2399 filed by Valenzuela City Rep. Sherwin Gatchalian, senior vice chairman of the House committee on Metro Manila development.

He said the BRT system was supposed to be implemented as early as in 2009 in anticipation of the traffic congestion by the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority but nothing came of it.

While commuters in Metro Manila have yet to find any sign of relief from road congestion, those in Cebu look forward to the operation in 2017 of their very own BRT, as financed by the World Bank under its Clean Technology Fund, the senior administration lawmaker said.

The present modes of public transportation “mostly defy the quality of fast travel, reliability, safety and convenience, hence, the propensity to use private vehicles instead which increases the volume of traffic flow in the streets,” he said.

He pushed for the speedy implementation of BRTs, saying it will help ease commuter’s woes as well as decongest heavy traffic in Metro Manila’s key thoroughfares.

“BRTs in Metro Manila will allow faster and more efficient mass public travel and improved traffic flow as it is expected to reduce private car use because of the availability of an efficient alternative, thereby relieving traffic congestion of streets,” Gatchalian said in his resolution.

“BRTs are expected to utilize exclusive right-of-way lanes, promote efficient boarding and alighting of passengers, institute pre-board fare collection and high-quality buses which shall attract more urban dwellers to commute via public transport,” he said.

He said the BRT system apparently started in Bogota, Colombia, and its success inspired many cities to build their own BRTs.

Gatchalian said having such an alternative system is crucial as road congestion already costs Asian economies around two to five percent of their gross domestic product yearly because of lost time and higher transport costs, according to the Asian Development Bank.