There’s no stopping the rollout of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (CBRT) System, which will be partially operational by the end of this year.
The CBRT project is expected to go full blast when it becomes fully operational by January 2023, announced Jonji Gonzales, Assistant Secretary of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas (OPAV).
Gonzales said the BRT aims to improve the overall performance of the urban passenger transport system in Cebu City “in terms of the quality and level of services safety and environmental efficiency.”
It will operate along both a dedicated transit way and in mixed traffic segment. The project corridor is about 23 kilometer long, from Bulacao to Talamban including South Road Properties.
Upon completion, the CBRT will be fielding 250 buses with at least 21 stations, he added. It will serve around 60,000 passengers a day.
“The DOTr (Department of Transportation), through Secretary Arthur Tugade, maintains that even if we are struck by the COVID pandemic, they remain to target partial operation of the project by December 2021 and full operation by January 2023,” Gonzales said during the Cabinet Report program last Tuesday.
To help educate the public on how to use the BRT while it is still being built, the Cebu Interim Bus service (CIBus) has been launched in Cebu City.
“CIBus is a precursor public transport service that mimics the BRT in improving connectivity and mobility in Cebu City,” Gonzales said.
Gonzales explained that the CIBus is a component of the planned Metro Cebu Integrated and Inter-modal Transport System (MCIITS) that seeks to integrate a monorail system, a cable car system and BRT.
The CBRT Package 1 has reached the publication and bidding stage. It is expected to be completed by December this year.
CBRT Package 1 comprises of four bus stations from the Cebu South Bus Terminal (CSBT) up to the Capitol area, along the Osmeña Blvd, Cebu City, Gonzales explained.
According to Gonzales, the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) is in charge of the expansion of the national road while the concerned local government unit will be responsible for local roads.
The first package is around 2.38 kilometers of dedicated bus lane from CSBT to the Capitol area. On the other hand, Package 2 and 3 involve the establishment of trunk service from SRP to CSBT via Natalio Bacalso Avenue and from Capitol to IT Park with terminals at SRP and IT Park.