Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) in Cebu City

BRT (Bus Rapid Transit)  is a term applied to a variety of public transportation systems using buses to provide faster, more efficient service than an ordinary bus line. Often this is achieved by making improvements to existing infrastructure, vehicles and scheduling. The goal of these systems is to approach the service quality of rail transit while still enjoying the cost savings and flexibility of bus transit.

Below is a sample of BRT video:






The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System is a proposed mass transit system for the City of Cebu located within the greater Cebu Metropolitan area. It is expected to become the first operational Bus Rapid Transit project in the Philippines. Only one line has been planned in detail so far, but scheme developers note the potential to develop a larger network comprising the adjacent cities Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue and Talisay. Leadership in both Lapu-Lapu and Mandaue have shown interest in the network. It is expected the first phase of the route could be operational in 2013.



The image below is the proposed first route of the BRT in cebu:

The 16 kilometre route traverses Cebu City from Bulacao in the south-west to Talamban in the north-east, linking the following key destinations; Central Business District, Capitol Site, Ayala Shopping Mall and a proposed tributary to SM Shopping Mall. A spur to the 300-hectare Cebu South Reclamation Project (SRP) is also planned as developers Filinvest seek to integrate BRT provision into their development plans.

The BRT vehicles will run along segregated bus lanes that run down the middle of the road. Stations will also be located in the middle of the road and will be accessed by footbridges or pedestrian crossings. 25 stations have been proposed including terminals at Ayala Shopping Mall, SM Mall, Talamban and Bulacao.

Some artist view on the coming BRT along Jones avenue:

The bus will accomodate between 85 and 110 passengers. It will run 25 km/hr is proposed with a peak frequency of 105 buses per hour on the core route.  The ticketing system will use pre-pay smart cards like that used for Rapid Transport in Singapore and Hong Kong.  The fare will be same with Jeepneys.

Future expansions:

I hope this will be realized... I am excited for this project.  If this will become successful it will help solve the heavy traffic in Metro Cebu.  At the same time it will give comfort to commuters and reach their destinations faster and more safe than our current jeepneys.