THE Light Rail Transit-Mono Rail Transit (LRT-MRT) project of the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) and AMA Group Holdings clashed with the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project of Cebu City Mayor-on-leave Tomas Osmeña.

Mayor Tomas’ objection to an LRT-BRT that will traverse the cities of Talisay, Cebu and Mandaue is simply because credit for the project will not go to him but to his political foe, Rep. Eduardo Gullas.

Sun.Star accepts donations for victims of Typhoon Ondoy

Osmeña can proceed with his BRT plan but his objection to the LRT-BRT proposal should not prejudice the project that will benefit the residents of Talisay and Mandaue and even towns as far as Dalaguete in the south and Sogod in the north.

Cebu City is Mayor Tomas’ only concern. He does not care for the welfare of the residents of Talisay, which has a claim over a portion of the South Road Properties, and Mandaue even if Mayor Jonas Cortes is his ally.

So why bother asking for the mayor’s endorsement when the National Government can proceed with the project without it?

Besides, Osmeña is on leave and his term ends in June next year.

Who knows whether the next city mayor will endorse the project or not?

We should not overlook the fact that national roads cross Cebu City. Thus, the DOTC can proceed with the LRT-MRT project by letting the railway pass over the national road that links Talisay with Mandaue. There can no longer be train stops or stations in Cebu City, however.

Still, Mayor Tomas’ BRT can benefit from this setup by transporting to Cebu City the train passengers who disembark in the stations in Subangdaku, Mandaue City or Tabunok, Talisay City.

I agree with DOTC Undersecretary Guiling Mamondiong that the BRT and the LRT-MRT systems can complement each other. The LRT-MRT railways, being in an elevated platform, won’t pose problems to traffic and travel would be faster than by bus.

Meanwhile, Mayor Tomas’ BRT, with bus lanes specifically designated for it, will contribute to the slowing of the traffic in the city because it takes away space from narrow and short roads already swarmed with PUJs and taxicabs driven by undisciplined people.

Osmeña and his cohorts use as model South American countries that used BRT. But they forgot that Cebu City is small compared with cities there.

We don’t have to look far for an example. Metro Manila has wider and longer streets than Cebu City but traffic here is still slow especially during peak hours since PUJs compete with buses in the same routes.

If not for the skyways and the LRT-MRT in Metro Manila, workers from different places in Metro Manila can not make it on time to report for work in the different commercial centers in the area.

With LRT-MRT, travel is faster since it is not hampered by traffic light stops or pedestrians recklessly crossing the busy streets. And I think fares for the LRT-MRT system are a lot lower than those of the BRT.

Cebu City officials should wake up to this glaring reality. With BRT, the city has to widen roads that are already full of PUJs and private cars, unless the city bans PUJs from the streets.

The problem here is not about Mayor Tomas’ brainchild, the BRT.

It is about personalities or the proponents involved in the project. In developed countries, the conception of projects is based on people’s welfare and benefits and not about who sponsored them.

(ele_freezone@yahoo.com)