P16-B Cebu BRT set to partially operate this year
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) ordered round-the-clock construction of the P16.3 billion Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (Cebu BRT) so a crucial segment can operate within 2021.
In a meeting last week, Transport Secretary Arthur P. Tugade declared he wants Package 1 of the Cebu BRT to be partially in operation this year to respond to the need for mobility in the pandemic.
Package 1 covers the 2.6-kilometer busway, with four (4) stations, urban realm enhancement, and vital intersection improvements.
Currently, it is already at the procurement stage.
In its entirety, the BRT spans 13.2 kilometers, traversing the South Road Properties (SRP) through Mambaling, up to IT Park, with 17 stations, two terminals, and one depot.
Along with the BRT, there will be a 20.2-kilometer bus feeder system to run with mixed traffic, complemented with sidewalk bus stops and shelters along 3 routes: Cebu IT Park-Talamban, Mambaling-Bulacao, and Talisay- SRP.
On its completion and once fully operational, the Cebu BRT will serve around 60,000 passengers daily.
The transport chief ordered the Cebu BRT project management team and the other concerned transportation officials to implement a 24/7 construction work schedule, with three work shifts that will employ and generate jobs for more local residents of the province.
The project contractor and personnel with key roles in the Cebu BRT project must be based in Cebu and 90 percent of the project’s total work force must be Cebuanos, he specified.
“While I’m addressing our program of projects, I am addressing the need of the economy and the requirements of the pandemic,” Secretary Tugade underscored.
“These are extraordinary times. They need extraordinary processes,” he added.
Secretary Tugade also wanted to make sure that the project’s work schedule and timeline of completion will be aligned with the election ban next year, and that the procurement process should be fast-tracked.
The Cebu BRT will improve passenger mobility along the project’s corridors.
It will also provide an option that is swift, comfortable, cost-effective, efficient, and will generate fewer emissions that reduce both local and global pollution.