BRT or LRT?
The recent controversy on the proposal to scrap the BRT and proceed with replacing it with an LRT had some people asking me which is better for Cebu City. As a former Chairman of CITOM/CCTO for over two years, at which time the BRT was in the final stages of approval and the LRT was initially proposed, I have my views on the matter. By the time I left CITOM/CCTO the detailed engineering was already being done for the BRT and we had already included the LRT and even a subway system in the Medium Term Traffic Plan for Metro Cebu.
The compelling argument for the BRT when it was then presented was the shorter implementation period and the lower cost as compared to LRT, a Monorail or a Subway system. Government bureaucracy has delayed the BRT project but the comparison would still hold as to the cost and the timetable. An LRT would cost three times the cost of the BRT and would take twice as long to build. A BRT will replace 11 jeepneys while an LRT will replace 18 jeepneys in the road. The designated stops of the BRT will improve traffic flow as there will be no more jeepneys that stop at every corner or anywhere that impedes the other vehicles. There will be less vehicles in the BRT route as jeepneys will be moved to other routes, and as more people will ride the airconditioned BRT buses rather than drive their cars.
Some of the roads for the BRT will be widened to accommodate the BRT buses, so the roads that were programmed to be widened a long time ago will now be finished and done, and this will also improve traffic flow. In the BRT project, there is a P2-billion signalization or traffic light component that will replace the 29-years-old SCATS system that is long overdue for replacement. The replacement will incorporate the latest monitoring and sensor technologies, including CCTVs, which will improve not just the traffic flow but also traffic rules implementation.
The LRT will definitely move commuters faster as the overhead tracks do not compete with other vehicles on the road. It will also move a bigger volume of passengers, as the faster turnaround over the entire route will mean double the number of passengers in the same period of time as the BRT. Though the higher cost of the LRT will mean higher fares for the riders, it is projected that by that time the higher purchasing power of the riders will make it affordable. It is also a given that in almost all places in the world, including Metro Manila, the national government subsidizes the LRTs, so if need be the Cebu LRT should also be subsidized by the government.
So, what should it be, BRT or LRT? I believe it is a wrong question because at this stage of our traffic problem in Cebu City and the surrounding cities and towns, we already need both the BRT and the LRT. The BRT will give us the four years breathing space while we are working on the LRT. The BRT should be up and running by the end of 2019 and the LRT by 2022 if we play our cards right.
All major metropolitan cities around the world have an LRT and an efficient Bus system or BRT. It is in Hong Kong, Singapore, Istanbul, Jakarta, Bangkok, and many places in Latin America, and Australia.
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