EDITORIAL - Of LRT and BRT

Cebu first district Representative Eduardo Gullas has been pushing for the implementation of the Light Rail Transit (LRT) system for Metro Cebu. Gullas said the director-general of the National Economic Development Authority has been committed to bat for the approval for the project before its investment coordination committee.

 The lawmaker said he is now seeking for the approval from the local government units of the cities of Cebu, Mandaue and Talisay of the project as it will greatly help improve traffic situation in these areas.

“We believe that a light rail transport system will greatly solve the worsening traffic situation, help the greater mass of our people who are poor in their mobility and enhance tremendously the growth, development and progress of Cebu,” said the veteran lawmaker.

However, the LRT system cannot be expected to be implemented in Cebu City as far as Mayor Tomas Osmeña is concerned. Osmeña has another mass transport system for the city.

Of late, the mayor has been busy working on Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which he is implementing in the city. He had already stressed that the BRT system will work for the city as it is not as expensive as putting up a light rail transit system around the city.

In fact, he had even gone to as far as Bogota in Colombia to observe the BRT system, which has been smoothly functioning there for decades. Osmeña finds Bogota a perfect example of having a mass transit system that has greatly improved the movement of traffic.

Well, those pushing for either LRT or BRT have only one purpose: To improve our outdated transit system. The only difference is that LRT will serve more than the BRT as it will be implemented not just in one city.

Between the two, it is the LRT - although much more costly - that can greatly solve Metro Cebu's worsening traffic. As the present situation goes, BRT can only solve traffic problem in Cebu City, but not in Mandaue City and Talisay City, where it is not taken as a viable option.

What Metro Cebu needs is a more coordinated mass transit system - such as the LRT - that will link its cities and town. Osmeña’s BRT scheme has only been limited to his city, which cannot really solve metro’s traffic problem.