Cebu rapid bus system gets P1.3 B – lawmaker

MANILA, Philippines - The country’s first bus rapid transit (BRT) system, to be built in Cebu City, will get P1.3 billion in funding next year, Cebu Rep. Gerald Anthony Gullas Jr. said yesterday.

Gullas said the Cebu BRT funding is included in the budget of the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) for motor vehicle traffic decongestion.

“The funding will be used to put up the infrastructure as well as facilities required for the BRT, including the exclusive bus lanes and stations. Part of the money will also be used to pay for the costs of right-of-way acquisition and detailed engineering design, among others,” he said.

With the P1.3-billion budget, the system should be on track for completion by the first quarter of 2018, he added.

The project is patterned after tested BRT models in Seoul, South Korea and Guangzhou, China. Outside Cebu, the DOTC has allotted an initial P208 million next year for BRT systems in Metro Manila – along Edsa and Quezon Avenue.

As envisioned, the Cebu BRT will involve 176 buses running one after the other along 16 kilometers of segregated lanes from Barangay Bulacao Pardo in Cebu City’s south district to Barangay Talamban in the north district, with a link to the south district.