Ben Madilynn
A LOCAL lawmaker has criticized the design of Cebu Bus Rapid Transit’s (CBRT) bus stations, describing it as complicated, grandiose and very expensive.
City Councilor James Anthony Cuenco told SunStar Cebu in a text message on Friday, Sept. 6, 2024, that the bus stations could have been a lot simpler and cheaper while still serving the same purpose.
Last March 1, the CBRT management posted on their Facebook page that they had started the installation of the foglia leaf-inspired design for the bus station near the Cebu South Bus Terminal.
After six months of construction, the installation of the wall at the bus station near Cebu Normal University is currently ongoing.
Cuenco said during heavy rain, passengers boarding or leaving the buses are likely to get wet.
Meanwhile, Cuenco disclosed that the CBRT management has not reached out to the council for discussions on the best solutions to move the project forward and avoid further delays.
“They remain tight-lipped on the questions that I had posed,” he said.
SunStar Cebu tried to contact Norvin Imbong, project manager of the CBRT, but to no avail as of press time.
Last Aug. 2, Acting Mayor Raymond Alvin Garcia told reporters that he had formed a CBRT staff led by Ma. Concepcion Encabo to ensure coordination between the CBRT management, which is under the Department of Transportation, and the local government unit (LGU) of Cebu City.
Cuenco said he is aware of the group; however, as the head of the transportation committee in the council and a member of the Traffic Management Committee, he hopes that the CBRT management will take the initiative to hold a meeting themselves.
He said the LGU group was unable to answer his queries.
“All I got is an update on the progress of Package 1 and the reasons for the delay,” he said.
He added that what he needs is a clear-cut plan for addressing the “stumbling blocks” that are causing the delay.
When asked if he had requested a meeting, he said that he had not, as he was waiting for the CBRT management to respond or at least react to his series of privilege speeches delivered during the regular sessions.
He added that the council has provided the CBRT management with copies of his speeches and queries.
“It is my position that they should endeavor to reach out to the council to resolve the impasses and not the other way around, because it is they who have a problem and not us,” he said.
CBRT is an ongoing project of the national government. Package 1 of the project covers a distance of 2.38 kilometers from the Cebu South Bus Terminal along N. Bacalso Avenue to the front of the Cebu Provincial Capitol along Osmeña Blvd. / JPS
