CEBU CITY -- The Department of Transportation (DOTr) remains optimistic that the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) could be partially operational by December, 2021, Assistant Secretary for Road Transport and Infrastructure Mark Steven Pastor said on Thursday.
Speaking at Mugstoria Ta, an online conversation aired on the Facebook page of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV), Pastor said that after months of suspension of the public transportation in Cebu, the Cebu Interim Bus Service (CIBUS) resumed its operation last September 9. The CIBUS is a modern public transport service that aims to mimic the BRT. It started operation on March 16, 2020 and will serve the South Road Properties (SRP) to I.T. Park route and vice versa.
According to Pastor, the detailed engineering design (DED) of CBRT package 1 is still under review by DOTr. "The CBRT package 1 will encompass four (4) BRT stations from Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) to Capitol along Osmeña Boulevard," he said.
Pastor also explained that the DED includes drawings, reports, builds of quantity, bill of quantity, and bid documents. The CBRT will be in full operation in May or June of 2022. The first package of CBRT covers 2.6 kilometers to 3 kilometers of dedicated bus lane from CSBT to the Capitol area, he said.
The detailed engineering design for the CBRT package 2 is on the final stage of parcellary mapping. Pastor explained that CBRT will be like the current CIBUS running in the streets of Cebu City and will have its dedicated lane.
Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) Chairman Atty. Martin Delgra III also said that the buses for CBRT will have a low floor and low entry and are also slowly rolling out the Automatic Fare Collection System (AFCS) which will also be the system of mode of payment in CBRT and in most of the modern public utility vehicles in the country to minimize the spread of COVID-19.
With DOTr's PUV modernization, Pastor revealed that they are continuously implementing the flagship programs under the Duterte administration that includes the 516 modern PUVs in the Visayas, 78 in Western Visayas; 348 in Central Visayas; and 90 in Eastern Visayas.
Pastor added that in the Visayas, 62 routes are being operated by the consolidated entities, 60 of which are in Eastern Visayas while 12 are in Eastern Visayas. The DOTr has also accredited 214 cooperatives in the Visayas with more than 22,000 members.
Pastor said they are now reviewing 114 Local Public Transport Route Plans (LPTRP) in the Visayas made by the local government units (LGUs).
In the DOTr’s infrastructure program, rail, aviation, and maritime projects are in the pipeline including the Cebu Monorail Transit System and the new Cebu International Container Port, Pastor added.