World Bank: Bus Rapid Transport faces 4 risks

Sunday, May 29, 2011

CEBU CITY -- Corruption may be a stumbling block in the implementation of the Bus Rapid Transport (BRT) system, a World Bank report said.

But a City Hall consultant is optimistic this risk will be eliminated with the direct supervision of the World Bank (WB) and the participation of agencies like the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) and the National Economic and Development Authority (Neda).

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Earlier this month, the WB visited Cebu City for a preparation mission on the BRT, which would be the first of its kind in the Philippines.

The report, submitted to DOTC Secretary Jose de Jesus, identified four risks in the implementation of BRT in Cebu. The World Bank is funding the feasibility study for the BRT in the country.

It said a key risk for the project is “the perceived high risk of corruption in the transport sector” and “weak capacity in governance.”

The risks are not specific to Cebu City, though.

Ownership

Cebu City Mayor Michael Rama said he met with World Bank officials in Manila earlier this month but he was not told of such a report where potential risks of the project were identified.

“I will not comment because I have not read a copy of the report. But I was with them (World Bank representatives) in Manila and there was no such discussion,” said Rama.

The WB report, however, also noted that the advantages of the new system outweigh the risks.

The report said among the “key risks” are “potential opposition from the informal transport sector, people to be resettled, and proponents of a light rail system for Cebu.”

“Given that this is the first BRT project in the Philippines, (there is) lack of clear institutional arrangements defining the roles of the national and local governments in project implementation, ownership, operation and management,” the report read.

Jeepney drivers may fear loss of income once the BRT is implemented.

But Colin Brader, the urban planner from Integrated Transport Planning, the consultancy firm for the BRT, assured that displaced drivers will be a priority in the employment of workers for the BRT.

Brader said that when the Nigerian BRT was opened, employment opportunities were 20 percent more than the total number of displaced drivers.

The main proponent of the project is the DOTC but the Cebu City Government has to be involved as the local government unit where the first BRT in the country will be implemented.

Attention

Nestor Archival, City Hall consultant and BRT point person, said the BRT Cebu will be closely watched, since it will be pursued under a public-private partnership.

“Much attention from the City Government and the Cebu constituents is expected, and with the participation of DOTC, Neda, and the National Government, with the direct supervision of World Bank, this risk (corruption) is eliminated,” Archival told Sun.Star Cebu.

Mactan Cebu International Airport Authority (MCIAA) General Manager Nigel Paul Villarete, the former Cebu City point person for the BRT, told the Cebu City Council to be prudent in deciding how to go about ownership of the transportation system.

Brader, Villarete and other experts presented the BRT system, with a proposed main route from Bulacao to Talamban and another internal system at the South Road Properties (SRP), to the Cebu City Council in an executive session.

Villarete said that when he was the City Planning Development Office chief during the administration of Rep. Tomas Osmeña, the stand of the Cebu City Government was to share in the expenses with the National Government.

This way, the City will also have a share in the profits.

Villarete also explained that the BRT in the Philippines has an allocation of $50 million from the Clean Technology Fund. There are three sites proposed to have a BRT system: Cebu, Manila and Davao.

Routes

Cebu will have at least $15 million for the 15-kilometer BRT, which will be built in two phases—the first will be from Bulacao to the Cebu Business District with links to the malls, Ayala Center and SM City Cebu.

Brader said this would be much easier to do because the roads in the south of the City are wider.

The second phase will be from Ayala Center to Talamban.

According to World Bank, Cebu City “is becoming an increasingly important technology center aided by the rising importance of international call centers.”

But its traffic congestion problem is “particularly acute.” Peak traffic speed hovers at 10 kilometers per hour in its three major urban arterial roads.

“The congestion is unlikely to improve as most of the economic and land development in Cebu City continues to occur at the City’s fringes, particularly in the northeast,” the WB report read.

Jeepneys compose 50 percent of the vehicles in Cebu City’s streets but World Bank found that the impact of the jeepneys on traffic is more than that.

This can be explained by the jeepneys’ command of the streets, transferring from one lane to the other to pick up passengers. The report described jeepneys as “an unsustainable solution to public transport in Cebu.”

Iconic

But Brader explained that the jeepneys will not be forgotten entirely.

“We will paint the vehicles nicely so we won’t lose the iconic feel of the jeepneys,” said Brader.

The BRT is also expected to be environmentally-friendly, which got the approval of Councilor Michael Ralota.

Councilor Margarita Osmeña was already sold to the idea, ever since she and husband Rep. Osmeña experienced the BRT first-hand in Bogota, Columbia. It was Rep. Osmeña who introduced BRT to Cebu when he was still mayor of the city.

World Bank representatives headed by lead transport economist Baher El-Hifnawi and City officials headed by City Administrator Jose Marie Poblete inspected the BRT route last May 18. (Sun.Star Cebu)