BRTs don’t/can’t solve traffic

As the initial stretch of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system is nearing completion along Osmeña Boulevard, social media is full of diverse opinions on what to expect, with the majority hoping that traffic flow would be faster than today, especially on that main stretch. They might be in for a major disappointment --traffic conditions won’t improve. It will continue as it is today, save for minor improvements with the clearing of construction works.

The expected dismay may be attributed to a misunderstanding of what BRTs are. Many people honestly think the Cebu BRT was intended to address traffic congestion. It was not, won’t, and never will. BRTs are public transport/mass transit systems designed to provide mobility, not solve traffic. And people who drive/ride cars daily won’t get any benefit from it --they might, in fact, criticize the apparent narrowing of the road width due to the introduction of the BRT lane.

Again, let’s go back to the basics. There are two concepts we often misinterpret. One is mobility. Many instantly imagine “mobility” as how fast vehicles run. No, it’s how easy people can be from one place to another, regardless of means used --public transport, private cars/motorcycles, biking, or even walking. Second is “time of day.” People’s (and vehicles’) movement vary during the day, peaking early in the morning (going to work/school) and late afternoon/evening (returning home). Traffic flow is lower the rest of the day. A BRT is a mass transport system that can carry a vast number of people fast, on its own roadway, pretty much in the same way as trains like LRT and MRT. These systems usually carry 60% to 70% of the early morning/late afternoon mass of people going to work/school, leaning out the rest of the day. The only way for public mass transport to be effective is to separate it from regular and inefficient single- or few-passenger vehicles like private cars. A BRT with its own lane, and even if stopping at intersections, pretty much act the same way.

Thus, while the upcoming Cebu BRT may carry a sizable chunk of the daily morning and evening trips on its own lane, there would still be a notable number of private cars/other traffic on the road, which may become congested in the years to come. The efficiency of public transportation like the BRT pretty much depends on the choices of commuters who were using cars before to shift to these systems.

There are a number of other issues, though. One, the routes are limited. While the original plan was to provide a Bulacao-Ayala and Talamban-Ayala routes (from where people live towards the center where they work or study), the previous transport managers strangely decided to put first an SRP-IT Park route, from one mall to another mall. I leave it to the Cebuanos to decide whether this was the right move. And more strangely, they started with a Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) to the Capitol stretch, with hardly any ridership in mind. How many people do you think will travel from CSBT to the Capitol in a day?

BRTs provide mobility, not solve traffic congestion. The sooner we understand this, the better.