The EDSA BRT Conundrum (Part 2 – History)

The Bus Rapid Transit, or BRT, has a very colorful history in the Philippines. In a previous series of articles a few years back, we traced its development worldwide with its initial development in Curitiba, Brazil, as early as 1974. For more than a decade, it developed into a distinct public transport denomination, and became more popular with the completion of TransMilenio, the BRT of Bogota, Colombia, in 2001. Many other cities followed and in 2004, TransJakarta opened in Indonesia.

In 2007, USAID submitted to DOTr, a pre-feasibility study for Metro Manila BRT, which listed possible alignments or routes in order of viability. EDSA BRT was included in the list but far down it. Topping the list were Quezon Avenue and Ortigas-to-Binangonan. Nothing happened. Then Mayor Tomas Osmeña of Cebu City requested the World Bank for assistance for the Cebu BRT in 2008. Pre-feasibility study was done in 2009-2010, full feasibility study in 2011-2012, NEDA approval was secured in 2013, loan approved in 2014, and budget included in 2015 for 2016 implementation.

The World Bank funding for Cebu BRT did include assistance for the Manila BRT and sometime in 2015, the Quezon Avenue BRT line was agreed upon and likewise funded. Not EDSA, for the same reason USAID gave it a lower priority --it conflicts with MRT-3. It was only sometime later that it got a boost from ADB who did a pre-feasibility study. Then came former secretary Tugade, who publicly declared in May 2018: “It is known that I was not inclined to approve a BRT system at EDSA and Cebu. Can you dedicate one more lane in a place where there are only three lanes? Can you dedicate a lane in a system like EDSA, where you have six lanes but are already overcrowded?” Then he promptly requested for the cancellation of Cebu BRT. With a transportation secretary with that mindset, it was all setbacks for the country’s planned BRTs.

Fortunately, saner minds prevailed, and NEDA refused to let go of both Cebu and Quezon Avenue BRTs. But the damage has been done and Quezon Avenue BRT was ultimately cancelled. EDSA’s plight, however, grew from bad to worse, requiring a public transportation capacity similar to that of a BRT. DOTr had no choice but to develop one like this and promptly called it the “EDSA Carousel.” It’s a BRT for all intents and purposes, maybe of a smaller scale, but to call it as such would have seemed like Tugade eating his words in 2018. Ergo, the “EDSA Carousel.”

Now, a private proposal (from Management Association of the Philippines, or MAP) is again on the table, but still absent the required investment-grade studies. They’re going around in circles, skirting NEDA, but eventually they need to present the realities of EDSA and the fact that MRT-3 is getting a major capacity upgrade. Again, I say, if MAP is serious, show the necessary studies and submit to DOTr and NEDA, not to the media. The country’s problems shouldn’t be addressed by unsubstantiated proposals and counterproposals. Let’s do it right. (To be continued)