Issues on the BRT operations (Part 1)

It usually remains unspoken, but the reality is, there often are some decisions to make on our public transport systems as they provide services in tandem with private cars. We’re just so used to the idea of the two in mixed traffic that we seldom think we’ll come to a point of making decisions where they should pass through in our existing roads or which goes to which lane. But progress always brings changes, which, sometimes include some decisions not necessarily preferable to some.

Metro Cebu is the second-largest metropolis in the country, but we have not reached the level like that of Manila, yet, or rather, we’re on the verge of, that is, having a full public transit system in the Bus Rapid Transit or BRT. There are still some who don’t recognize it as a full public transit system such as that provided by “trains” due to our undue partiality with rail services as “the ultimate” kind we can get. It bears repeating that the only difference between the BRT and its “train” cousins like the Light Rail Transit (LRT), Mass Rail Transit (MRT), or the monorail, are the wheels. The latter have steel wheels while the BRT’s wheels are rubber tires. Operations and service-wise, they’re of the same genre.

The main difference between the BRT and its rail cousins is that the latter needs its specialized infrastructure on which to run on --the rails, while the BRT runs on existing roads. Thus, the LRT, MRT, or monorail, run separately from ordinary everyday vehicular traffic and don’t mix with it. BRTs, on the other hand, runs on one lane of the existing road but could use the other lanes if necessary. Similarly, ordinary cars and other vehicles can pass through the BRT lanes, but regulations usually prohibit that. BRT systems around the world usually have separate lanes to prevent incursions by ordinary traffic.

The other peculiarity of the BRT is its preferred placement on the innermost lane of a multi-lane roadway, as is the prevalent placement of most rail-based systems. There are certainly curb-side BRTs in the world, but these are much fewer in number and with lower capacities, too. As what we have stated a few times in this column, most BRTs run at the center of the roadway between centralized stations which necessitates that their “doors” be located on the left side of the bus. Unless provided with special right side, doors, a BRT bus cannot embark or disembark passengers at the roadside,

There might be some issues that Cebu drivers need to adjust with the coming operations of the BRT, more with maneuvering on intersections, especially on left-turning movements. There would be birth pangs --that’s expected, but we’ll soon settle down once it starts. We expect private car drivers to dislike this, but we need to upgrade public transportation --it serves the majority of our people. Cars are the minority. The BRT won’t get stuck in traffic like the existing jeepneys. Or at least, we hope.