Philippines First Bus Rapid Transit System For Cebu

[Jollygoodfellow]

Good news for Cebu? 

 

World Bank funds Philippines' first bus rapid transit system, other programs

 

THE WORLD BANK approved on Friday nearly half-a-billion dollars in financial package to fund the Philippines' first bus rapid transit (BRT) system and augment the government's budget for reforms, including a conditional cash assistance program for mothers to send their children to school.

 

 

In a statement released to the media on Saturday, the Washington-based lender said it is lending $141 million for the construction of a 23-kilometer BRT system in Cebu City.

 

A separate statement said the World Bank's Board of Executive Directors approved a $300 million new development policy loan (DPL) to support programs outlined under the Aquino administration's six-year Philippine Development Plan (PDP).

 

Combined, the fresh loans amount to $441 million or an estimated P19.7 billion (based on Friday's exchange rate of P44.72 to the dollar).

 

With the BRT system, the Philippines joins the likes of Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Ottawa, and Sao Paolo that built this mode of transport as wealth spills over to other urban centers from the main capital, bringing with it traffic and pollution headaches.

 

Cebu has seen rapid urbanization in recent years, with the Philippines' property conglomerates racing to build malls, towering condominiums and office buildings while the government works out a deal to upgrade the city's main airport.

 

The Cebu BRT system is expected to ferry 330,000 passengers daily. A BRT system has dedicated lanes and is cheaper to build compared to their light rail transit counterparts.

 

The project, the multilateral lender said, will also install a “state-of-the-art computerized traffic management system in the entire city” to integrate the BRTs with other modes of transport.

 

“When successfully implemented, Cebu BRT will provide an on-the-ground demonstration of how this system can address people’s need for a reliable, efficient and comfortable transport ��“ something that other cities in the Philippines and beyond can learn from,” World Bank Country Director Motoo Konishi was quoted as saying in the release.

 

The Department of Budget and Management has released P9.48 billion in August to fund the Transportation Department’s Cebu BRT project.

 

The BRT project is estimated to cost P10.62 billion and expected to be operational by 2018.

 

Broken down, P1.1 billion will be shouldered by the Philippine government and P8.39 billion will be sourced from loans.

 

The remaining P1.14 billion will be financed by the private sector, particularly in purchasing vehicles.

 

Meanwhile, the DPL, the World Bank said, will support six programs:

 

-building farm-to-market roads and roads for tourism areas

-simplifying registration and licensing of small and medium enterprises

-updating the National Household Targeting System (NHTS), a database of poor families that need social welfare, including health insurance coverage.

-expanding the conditional cash transfer (CCT) program to children up to 18 years old to encourage them to finish high school

-implementing reforms, including the implementation of “sin” taxes to “improve fiscal sustainability”

-standardizing budget, spending, audit and reporting classifications for agencies in a bid to modernize the public financial management information systems in the country. 

 

The $300 million aid also supports the government’s data.gov.ph project, an open data initiative which lists at least 600 data sets from government agencies.

 

“The government sees transparency around the use of public resources as fundamental to institutionalizing governance reforms. By making government data available to the general public, the government can get better feedback from citizens on how it can best deliver social services while making those in public service more accountable,” World Bank Senior Economist Kai Kaiser was quoted as saying in the release.--MIKHAIL FRANZ E. FLORES

 

http://www.bworldonline.com/content.php?section=Economy&title=world-bank-funds-philippines-first-bus-rapid-transit-system-other-programs&id=95139

 

[Guy F.]

"Dedicated lanes"?! Excuse my skepticism. Does that mean one lane will be for buses only? Good luck with that.

[Dave Hounddriver]

it is lending $141 million

Excuse my skepticism

 

If they really expect to get the money back then I am just as skeptic.

[Americano]

As the article says buses are cheaper than a rail system, but Cebu already has buses so how would BRT be any different?  Will the buses be faster?  What good will that do when they can't go faster due to the slow traffic?  Oh, the fast buses will have a dedicated lane.  Filipinos do not obey laws well enough and have enough discipline to not drive on the BRT dedicated lane too.  A rail system would be more efficient and move passenger faster, but what happens when a bullet train hits a goat, cow, dog?

[robert k]

If a train hits any type of livestock, the meat will already be tenderized?

[MikeB]

The bus lanes will be in the middle of the roadway with physical barriers separating them from other traffic.

 

[Americano]

If a train hits any type of livestock, the meat will already be tenderized?

 

Hey, maybe that's the answer to tender beef in the Philippines.

 

Last Wednesday my wife and I were riding in a taxi in Cebu City.  The cab driver said there are plans to build a fast passenger train that will run from Danao which is North of Cebu City to Carcar City.  I wonder if those plans have changed and now the plan is for more buses that only travel 23 kilometers?

[Americano]

The bus lanes will be in the middle of the roadway with physical barriers separating them from other traffic.

 

Osmena_Blvd_Artists_Impression.jpg

 

Where does the Philippines have enough room for 6 lanes?  My guess is only in big cities like Cebu which isn't much help for transporting people in and out of the city.

[jpbago]

Elevated trains are the only way to go. When you can't build out, then you build up. In the picture in post 6, it looks like 6 lanes for cars, 2 lanes for the BRT, 2 boulevards, and 2 sidewalks. Imminent domain will be very busy. 

[RBM]

Elevated trains are the only way to go. When you can't build out, then you build up. In the picture in post 6, it looks like 6 lanes for cars, 2 lanes for the BRT, 2 boulevards, and 2 sidewalks. Imminent domain will be very busy. 

 

At this time guess quite a few delighted Government officials already counting their share of the billions.....