IN terms of investment, the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) is the most cost-effective compared to trams and rails.

The National Center for Traffic Studies (NCTS) said that for a kilometer of a mass transport system, a BRT costs USD$500,000 to USD$15 million.

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It may be expensive when converted to peso, but the NCTS said a rail transit will cost more.

For every kilometer, a tram system costs USD$10 million to USD$20 million per kilometer; light rail, USD$15 million to USD$40 million; urban rail, USD$26 million to USD$60 million; elevated rail, USD$50 million to USD$100 million; and metro rail, USD$50 million to USD$320 million.

The Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) is proposing a USD$602-million Light Rail Transit-Mono Rail Transit (LRT-MRT) to decongest traffic in Metro Cebu.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, however, questioned the project. He prefers the BRT.

During a meeting that the DOTC and AMA Group Holdings Corp. hosted last Saturday, Osmeña asked how the proposed LRT-MRT will decongest traffic if the same road right-of-way will be used.

He also asked how it would affect the proposed BRT, as he called the DOTC a “lousy urban planner.”

Because of a much bigger cost for a rail system, City Councilor Sylvan Jakosalem warned that “our children and grandchildren will continue paying for its survival.”

He said the rail system needs to be subsidized by the National Government to keep the fare affordable to the public; the BRT, on the other hand, “pays for itself in the long run.”

He said that in the US, many places that have the LRT are now constructing a BRT system instead of building more rail systems.

“No doubt that the LRT is faster than the BRT, but so was the Concorde compared to the (Boeing) 747. But where is the Concorde now?” he said as analogy.

The NCTS said that USD$1 billion in funds can be used to set up 426 kilometers of BRT, but just 14 kilometers of an elevated rail, and merely seven kilometers of a subway or metro rail.

In an earlier interview, Osmeña said he will not give any endorsement of the LRT-MRT project until the BRT study the City requested is finished.

The DOTC needs the Cebu City Government’s endorsement of the project before it can present it to the Regional Development Council.

It has scheduled this Saturday a public presentation of the multi-million-dollar project to convince the Cebuanos of its need.

Despite Osmeña’s objection, AMA Group Holdings Corp., the proponent of the LRT-MRT project, is now negotiating with the Department of Agriculture (DA) for the
purchase of its property in Barangay Estancia, Mandaue City for a mall and the LRT station.

The DA land referred to by Johnny Ramos of AMA Group as the agency’s plant experiment station is near Gaisano Metro Mandaue.

The proponent needs at least 20 hectares of land and they found the DA plant experiment station suitable for the terminal, which will connect to the MRT that will ply the Mandaue City-Sogod route.

The LRT, on the other hand, will be from Estancia, Mandaue City to Tabunok, Talisay City. It will cover almost 20 kilometers and about 15 kilometers of the railway will be elevated, similar to the one on Taft Ave., Manila.

“We were talking already with DA on how to make use of that idle land. This is very important because, otherwise, we cannot realize good numbers if we do not construct a mall to support the railway project. Without a mall, it will fall in terms of profitability. We need 20 hectares for this,” Ramos said during the recent consultation at Waterfront Cebu City Hotel and Casino.

Ramos said the AMA Group will put up a 25-percent equity for the $602 million project, and the other 75 percent will be financed through loans and bilateral sources.

Ramos said that in their planning, they chose Estancia, Mandaue City to Tabunok, Talisay City because of the volume of passengers in the area.

“At 210,000 riders per day, to us, that is workable for us to operate a railway system, considering the rail alignment that we are proposing,” Ramos said.

Ramos said that the minimum fare of P15 pesos plus P0.50 per kilometer is quite reasonable.

He said they had given the National Economic and Development Authority 7 copies of the entire feasibility study last week for it to review and recommend if the figures are acceptable.

“Right now, we are working on the endorsements from the City Governments of Mandaue, Cebu and Talisay. This is the initial need for this project to move on,” Ramos said.

Talisay City and Mandaue City officials have expressed their support for the project.

The Talisay City Council yesterday approved en masse a resolution strongly backing the proposed bill of Rep. Eduardo R. Gullas (Cebu, 1st district) that calls for the establishment of Cebu’s first LRT system.

“This laudable project will tremendously enhance the growth and will eventually put Metro Cebu at the forefront of development and progress,” read the resolution sponsored by Councilor Rodi Cabigas.

Cabigas, city council committee chairman on infrastructure, described the LRT system project as responsive to the needs of the masses, as this will help solve the worsening traffic problem in Metro Cebu.

With the LRT system, travel time from Talisay to the cities of Cebu and Mandaue will tremendously reduce.

Both Mandaue City Mayor Jonas Cortes and Vice Mayor Carlo Fortuna said they favor the mass transport system but said the public must be consulted first.

“If the national government has designed and planned an LRT for Cebu, then it deserves our support,” the vice mayor told reporters.

Meanwhile, Capitol consultant Rory Jon Sepulveda believes that a heavy railway system would be a better alternative for areas outside Metro Cebu.

Sepulveda believes that the heavy-gauge rail system would better serve the needs of the province’s constituents.

The heavy rail system would carry passengers and cargoes.

“The LRT will only cater to commuters. It cannot help de-urbanize Cebu City,” said Sepulveda. (RHM/EOB/GC/OCP/JGA)

Published in the Sun.Star Cebu newspaper on October 21, 2009.