PRESIDENT Rodrigo Duterte has allocated P10.2 billion in 2018 to develop the country’s first-ever bus rapid transit projects in Metro Manila and Cebu.
“The BRT Line 2 along Epifanio delos Santos Avenue is getting P3.09 billion, while Line 1 along Quezon Avenue-España Boulevard will have P1.76 billion,” Makati City Rep. Luis Campos Jr. said.
On the other hand, Cebu’s BRT project has a P5.37-billion budget allocation.
Campos urged the Department of Transportation and the Department of Energy to adopt environment-friendly and low gas emission buses for the projects.
“Our cities deserve a breath of fresh air so we definitely do not want the usual 100-percent diesel buses running through our BRT lines,” he said.
Campos is the author of the proposed Electric, Hybrid and Alternative Fuel Vehicles Incentives Act.
“Hybrid buses with battery-powered electric motors and smaller diesel engines, or possibly even buses running on cleaner fuel should be deployed preferably,” he said.
He said a BRT bus must have free high-speed Internet connectivity, digital security cameras and a public address system.
Once completed, BRT Line 2 will move 1.6 million to two million commuters daily while Line 1 could serve 300,000 train commuters a day.
