The Department Of Transportation (DOTr) Aims To Push Through
Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project In
BRT – The Department of Transportaion will push the improved bus rapid transit project (BRT) in Cebu as part of the Intermodal Integrated Transport System.
DOTr road undersecretary Mark de Leon said that the project, in which it originally would cost ₱16 billion and stretch 23 kilometers, will be
“revalidated, reengineered and redesigned.” De Leon also said that the project would have the same alignment but the scope would be different.
Despite this, major changes to the project will end up requiring approval again from the board of the National Economic and Development Authority.
A report in Inquirer states that the earlier designs of the Cebu BRT was to link the areas of Bulacao, Ayala and Talamban. Part of the overhaul would be the retrofitting of the proposed stations.
De Leon futher added that some areas would connect to a possible Light Rail Transit Line that would run from Carcar to Danao, and Mandaue to the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). In July, DOTr showed plans for its proposed intermodal integrated transport system in Cebu.
Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said that the central component was a $3-billion offer for an inner-city LRT. It also included a potential monorail project that will link MCIA to hotels and resorts on Mactan Island.
As per the report, the DOTr previously stalled the projects as they are cautious with the projects’ impact on congested roads. The projects supporters, on the other hand, argued that the BRT systems were an effective mass transit solution to traffic-strangled roads.
There are also two proposed BRTs in Metro Manila:
- The Metro Manila BRT Line 1 which will run 12.3-km from Quezon Memorial Circle to Manila City Hall via Elliptical Road, Quezon Avenue, and Espana Boulevard; and
- The larger Metro Manila BRT Line 2 will span 48.6 km. It will have four main corridors: a main line along Edsa and spur corridors along Ayala Avenue to World Trade Center, Ortigas to Bonifacio Global City, and Manila’s Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The Quezon Memorial Circle BRT, on the other hand, remained in the cards; and the Edsa BRT, according to De Leon, will unlikely be pursued since the
Asian Development Bank, which was supposed to fund the project, had backed out.
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READ ALSO: DOTr-MRT3 to Give Free Rides on Rizal Day (December 30, 2018)
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