More on Cebu traffic and the BRT

I had some reactions on last week’s column on “Alleviating Cebu’s Traffic Problem” and one commented that I am obliged and should share my knowledge and insights on the Cebu’s traffic problems, as I was paid while I was with CITOM. For the record, in my positions in the government and government corporations, in MCWD, NPC, PDIC, and CITOM, I was always representing the private sector and didn’t receive a salary but per diems for the meetings. In those times the amounts were modest and I would surely have earned more in my private business or in private corporations. I also didn’t apply for these positions but was appointed by the national or local government as my name came up in the shortlist for the positions. I welcomed the opportunity to serve the government in some way, and the knowledge, learning, and the friendships while working/serving in public service were invaluable.

These are the other traffic solutions we had discussed/ proposed in the CITOM Board years ago. We had always pushed for designated recessed bus and jeepney stops in all major roads. While buses and jeepneys stopping anywhere is not a problem in the towns or small localities, a city with a million people need rationalized stopping points. I remember a study on the proposed one-kilometer minimum distance between “shaded stops” on the rationale that commuters will walk at least half a kilometer to a designated point. These shaded bus stops should be recessed three meters and six meters long to accommodate three jeepneys or two buses, taking into consideration that they will stay in these stops no longer than five minutes.

Corollary to these bus/jeepney stops was another proposal to the Office of the Building Official to require all buildings along the major roads to have vehicle access easements proportionate to the size, height, and occupancy of the building, so that loading and unloading from public or private vehicles will not stop the flow of vehicles in the road. I remember talking to an engineer/ condominium developer then about computing the ingress/ egress time of a 10-story condominium at 8 a.m., in the same way they compute the volume of water consumed and sewage that flows between 6 a.m. to 8 a.m. in designing their water and sewage distribution system. Over the years, property developers have become more responsible and have learned the lessons on accessibility, that the newer buildings have wide driveways and adequate parking spaces. Maybe, it’s time to formalize and improve all these easement regulations to cover all structures that abut all major and minor roads.

The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) was conceptualized and proposed some 20 years ago and started construction only last year. It was in our CITOM agenda then, and I remember attending a NEDA hearing on the project. We couldn’t tinker much on the design and route as it was supported by enormous studies and assumptions. While the board members had personal observations and opinions, it did not matter much as it was a national project and nationally funded, dripping with technical expertise. In my private trip to Istanbul and Hanoi I took the time to look at their BRT. The one in Istanbul was in a six-lane road and occupied the two inner lanes of the road and did not extend to the smaller roads inside the city. The BRT in Hanoi was still under construction and only partially operational when I was there, and it added to the horrendous traffic.

Considering the 20-year lapse since the Cebu BRT was designed, we can presume that a lot of the assumptions, parameters, and technologies of the study have changed. The original Cebu BRT route has also been changed three times, so it would be very difficult to assess the viability and success of the Cebu BRT at this time. Since, it is being constructed in segments, we will have to wait for the partial operation to make a judgment and decide the further route extensions. My take on this Cebu BRT project is really on capacity utilization. If we are going to appropriate a large area for the BRT, we better be sure that there is at least an 80% utilization of the space provided or else it is an unproductive use of the space. The BRT route should be used 80% of the time by the designated buses and move 80% of the commuters in that route to make economic and social sense considering the huge expenditure.