DAVAO City Mayor Sara Duterte-Carpio is positive that the High Priority Bus System (HPBS), one of the big projects of the city, will commence this year.

Duterte-Carpio on Thursday, February 21, said that HPBS is one of the projects that they are pushing to modernize the transportation system of the city and address the growing need for mass transit system to solve traffic congestion.

“Ganina nag-meeting mi sa High Priority Bus system because mao gyud ni ang isa sa mga project na gina-push nato for Davao City. So kaganina I think we can start na, murag mga 50 percent nako positive na magsugod jud ta this year (We had a meeting earlier regarding the HPBS because this is one of the projects that being pushed in the city. I am 50 percent positive that we can start this year],” Duterte-Carpio said.

However, the company that will provide the buses to be deployed for the HPBS has yet to be determined.

Interested companies, she said, must have buses that are at par with the buses in developed countries.

“But ang atong gina-push jud is modern bus system so kung dili sila modern like what we see in other countries, like Singapore, like Germany, dili ta musugot (What we are pushing is modern bus system, if they are not modern then we will not allow them). What we want to see is the latest in modern bus system globally,” the mayor added.

She, however, said that the interim bus routes that they have identified for the HPBS is already final.

Meanwhile, Davao City assistant city administration for operations lawyer Tristan Dwight Domingo said during the ISpeak Conference at the Davao City Hall Thursday that the Department of Transportation (DOTr) expressed hesitation over Davao City's HPBS.

He said the DOTr wants to implement the same kind of public transport modernization project nationwide.

However, Domingo pointed out that the plan of the DOTr may not be applicable in all areas in the country. Hence, there is a need for each city to have its own public transport modernization plan.

He said they are asking the DOTr to plan with them.

Meahwile, Duterte-Carpio clarified that the Peak Hours Augmentation Bus Service (PHABS) is not a dry run for the HPBS because these two are different. She cited that the buses will be more modern and passengers could not just drop wherever they want since there would be designated bus stops.