Philippines First Bus Rapid Transit System For Cebu

[Guy F.]

Elevated trains would definitely be the way to go.

[Americano]

Why doesn't someone ask the government a simple question?  What benefit will more buses be?

[MikeB]

Elevated trains would definitely be the way to go.

Much much more expensive, not only in construction but operation and maintenance. This isolated bus system has been very successful in hundreds of cities worldwide.

[Scruffydawg]

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

 

I was about to say. Only if you have armed guards every 20 feet and then doubtful.

 

Sir, i just park here for a bit.

[Jollygoodfellow]

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.

 

Well it did say its for Cebu city and that's the purpose to move commuters to work and home. This is not new in the rest of the world and I'm sort of shocked at some of the comments in this topic.If you could take a small amount of Jeepneys off the road and replace them with faster modern buses that stop at dedicated stops then it has to make the roads more efficient rather than stopping anywhere in the middle of the road to pick up 2 passengers at a time. For those who say that others will just ignore the bus lanes well Mikes photo gave an impression of what most look like so its not just a case of painting buses only on the road its like having a railway except with buses and it might be built separately to the existing road system.

This is the first stage and in the future more routes may built linking the others. Lets face it, things are slowly modernizing in the cites of the Philippines and the people are adapting to them.  :thumbsup:

[Guy F.]

I did a bit of looking an found rail is indeed more expensive than buses to maintain. The relevant question then becomes "Do I expect enough passengers to ride my proposed light rail system so that I can operate three car trains that can carry up to five hundred people every ten minutes or more during the peak period? If not, then BRT is the clear choice because I will not have enough passengers to overcome the increased cost of operating rail."

 

Quoted from http://publictransport.about.com/od/Transit_War/a/Overview-Of-The-Bus-Rapid-Transit-Versus-Light-Rail-Debate.htm

[Dave Hounddriver]

“The project will also install a state-of-the-art computerized traffic management system in the entire city to ensure smoother overall traffic flow and will provide other improvements to integrate the BRT with other modes of transport,” the World Bank said.

 

http://www.philstar.com/business/2014/09/29/1374208/cebu-gets-141-m-wb-loan-bus-rapid-transit-project

 

There area already traffic lights and busses in Cebu.  The traffic lights get turned off so the Traffic 'wardens' can dance and direct traffic in the intersections while the busses operate from two seperate bus terminals which are (naturally) not connected by bus.  If the 'new improved' system happens in my lifetime then I am buying a round of beers for all forum members who can show up in Cebu for it..  Mark this post and remind me.

[Markham]

I'm with you on this, Dave, this BRT simply won't happen - at least not in the form promised. There may be a few new buses on the road plying the route from Consolacion to the south end of the SRP but they won't be driving along dedicated bus lanes.They will simply add to the congestion and since they will stop frequently, traffic jams will abound. A future mayor will be forced to scrap the project.

 

But there again the project might die before any new buses are bought if the Jeepney and taxi drivers take industrial action - and they are a powerful lobbying force.

Edited September 29, 2014 by Markham

[Americano]

Jeepneys and Taxis work very well in Cebu City and get you down the street you want.  BRT Buses will only transport you on the major streets and roads, which will be almost useless for most people.

[MikeB]

Mark makes a good point about the jeepney drivers, that is a point of contention and one of the many issues that has to be worked out. Unlike some of the other commenters, he has obviously read thoroughly about this project and has an understanding of it. Given the financing I believe it will happen, but not in the stated timetable. There are successful BRT systems in Mexico, Colombia, Pakistan, Iran, Nigeria, and Uganda, I'm sure there were insurmountable problems and corruption there as well. Even Brisbane has one. I hope they can do it because it would be a major boon to the region and country and I'm sure those of us who live here support that. This and the airport renovation are long overdue.