Wanted: A better mass transit for Metro Cebu

Last Thursday afternoon, the University of San Jose-Recoletos (USJ-R) invited this writer and Radio commentator Alex Bolongaita to speak before the College of Law professors and students on the topic of “Federalism: A form of government, its advantages and disadvantages.” Atty. Jonathan Capanas, Dean of the College of Law sent us the invitation.

Speaking before a group professors and law students was quite exciting because we could sense that while everyone wants to embrace a Federal system of governance, there is always that sense of foreboding that even if we know that the current Unitary form of government is no longer working for this country (after all we were once second only to Japan and now we’re second to the last) there is that fear that things might still not work if we Federalize. But allowing our friends to see what Federalism has done to the many other countries that are now Federal should be a comforting thought. Now should we embrace a Parliamentary or Presidential form?

Everyone seems to agree that one big folly in our present political system is that the multi-party system has not worked for the benefit of the people; it has only worked for selfish politicians. Hence, you can hear the clamor to return to the two-party system like what they have in the US, with the Democratic Party and the Republican Party.

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Yesterday morning we were at the Conference Hall of the Office of Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña with the Cebu media to attend the Orientation Seminar on the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) concept, on their advocacy campaign for local stakeholders. Paul Villarete, City Planning and Development Coordinator for Cebu City was the first to talk about the current transport situation in Cebu City and its issues and challenges. Dr. Ildefonso Patdu, Director for Planning and Special Projects of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) talked about “The Urgent Need for Public Transport Reforms” while Dr. Cresencio Montalbo Jr., a transportation professor from UP talked about the Bus Rapid Transit.

I was with Atty. Frank Malilong. The question really bothering us was whether this would ever happen in our lifetime. That Metro Cebu, not just Cebu City needed some kind of a mass transport system is something we needed 20 years ago. But as usual, those who studied Transportation already knew this a long time ago. Everyone, including Mayor Tomas Osmeña who spoke towards the end of the seminar, agree that one of the biggest obstacles to improving our mass transit system is the lack of political will.

One might venture to say that the biggest problem is lack of funds. But then, funding should not be a problem in this new or renewed advocacy because we’re talking here about a Rapid Bus Transit system, a system that I had the privilege to personally see and experience in 1996 when we visited the City of Curritiba in Brazil. That was the Stairless Bus system that was conceptualized and implemented by then Mayor Jaime Lerner, whom the Reader’s Digest dubbed as the Best Mayor in the World. When we were in Brazil, he was the Governor of the State of Parana. Yes, Brazil is a Federalized nation.

Another successful Rapid Bus Transit system is the Trans Millennio in Bogota, Colombia and another in Brisbane, Australia. This gives you an idea that a BRT can transcend cultures and still work. Perhaps the best motivator for us to adopt a BRT system is its low cost. In an LRT system, the cost of US$1 billion only gets you 7 kilometers of railway, while the same US$1 billion can give you 428 kilometers for the BRT. Best of all, the fares of all successful BRTs are not subsidized by the government; hence the local government can use the extra revenue to enhance the BRT by adding bicycle lanes so the system can be integrated with the community. I must say though that jeepneys will only disappear from the main roads but they will continue to service the feeder routes.

But what is our timetable to come up with a BRT for Cebu? The bigger question is whether this time around, we have the political will to implement this system. The venerable jeepney, our aging and only mass transportation system needs to be totally overhauled. I know that they can be integrated into the BRT as employees of this transit system. What about those who don’t want to be employed? This is the challenge today. Like what I said, we needed this system 20 years ago, but the only way forward is for us to bite the proverbial bullet and unite to achieve this noble goal.