Letter to the editor: Reaction to editorial on BRT

Dear Mr. Tundag:

We read your editorial of today, which opines on the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) for the City of Cebu. If you would be so kind as to allow us, may we clarify some of the points that have been raised in the write-up.

Our firm, Integrated Transport Planning, Ltd., a UK-based consulting firm, is the lead consultant in the ongoing project feasibility study for the BRT. We are mostly tasked with investigating whether the project is suitable to Cebu City, considering its prevailing conditions, including culture and, most of all, the status of the transport regime, whether it is technically and socially acceptable, what the likely challenges are to implementation and what solutions may be applied towards these challenges.

We are past halfway on our feasibility study timeline and our initial findings point towards the project being highly feasible. Drawing on our experience in the study of the BRT systems of such cities as Lagos, Nigeria, Ahmedabad, India and Jakarta, Indonesia, among others, those which initially indicated themselves to be feasible can actually perform optimally and cost-effectively and they are operating that way to this day. We believe that these cities exhibit levels of indiscipline on the streets far more than that of Cebu and, through our numerous discussions in the Barangays fronting the route, we are confident of the Cebuano people’s ability and willingness to adopt to the changing world at their front door.

The BRT buses will indeed be air conditioned and run in their own lanes, to protect them from congestion, but they will be no more expensive than using jeepneys. Our financial analysis has shown that at jeepney fares the cost of operating BRT can be covered and return a modest profit for operators.

The BRT will take road space and we are looking carefully at the best way to use road space to make sure we can accommodate all road users. If you can imagine the existing situation where large numbers of jeepneys travel very slowly, often stopping along the nearside lane which is also populated with people forced into the road because of poor sidewalks you will be able to imagine the release of capacity that we can achieve by removing those jeepneys and building wide un-interrupted sidewalks where people can walk.

Whether the BRT is too good to be true or not is a decision for others, not the technical development team. Our intention and commitment is to make it the best system we can and one that respects the local environment and people. Not all jeepneys will be replaced, in fact the vast majority of jeepneys will continue to run. Within the BRT corridor some jeepneys will be replaced and some will be re-directed to routes that compliment, not compete, with the BRT. The project is proposed to be funded through a World Bank loan and as such must be undertaken with respect to World Bank environmental and social safeguards. As such it is an absolute requirement that the project development team seek to find employment for any of those that might lose employment as a result of BRT. Looking at BRT in Johannesburg, Lagos, Jakarta and Bogota; these are all run, at least in part, by former public transport owners and drivers; there is no reason to think that Cebu will be any different.

Again, we have faith in the Cebuano people to embrace new challenges. We hope that as these matters about the proposed BRT system are made clearer, we may invite The Freeman and others to look towards a better and brighter way of life.

Thank you very much for sparing some space so we can share the good news.

Yours sincerely,

Colin Brader

Managing Director &

Cebu BRT Feasibility Study Team Leader