BRT in the Philippines: A Solution to Manila and Cebu Traffic Problems?

Bus Rapid Transit (BRT), where buses run on dedicated roads at high frequency, almost in a metrorail manner, has been adopted as a backbone of urban mobility in the cities of many developing countries. Originally developed in South America (Curitiba, Brazil and Bogotá, Colombia), it has entered Asia with force, from Indonesia (Jakarta’s Transjakarta ) to India and China. In the case of the Philippines, where intercity bus transportation is widely used due to the current lack of a railway network, city traffic, especially in Manila, is heavily congested, partly due to a high number of city buses running half-empty, the small proportion of road space relative to the vehicle population, and the insufficient provision of urban rail transportation. This paper examines the current situation of congestion, and its adverse effects, in the two main urban areas of the Philippines, Manila and Cebu, and the plans to implement BRT, looking at the routes chosen, the financing, the schedule of development and the expected outcomes. A major impediment to improvement in traffic conditions in the Philippines is the current boundary system, which coupled with the high number of bus operating companies leads to wild competition on the road, with the strong potential for multiple traffic jams and traffic accidents. Implementing a BRT system to make traffic smooth and fluid will require not only some road work and financing, but also a profound change in the way the bus system operates. It will also require a profound re-evaluation of intermodality between the renovated bus system, the rail system and two iconic Filipino transport modes, the aging jeepney and the lowly trisikel.