SBLB seeks P20M budget for bike patrollers, bollards

A resolution has been filed in the Cebu City Council for a sharing scheme among bikers and utility jeepneys on the city’s bike lanes during peak hours.  CDN Digital photo | Brian J. Ochoa

CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Sugbo Bike Lanes Board (SBLB ) is seeking a budget of P20 million to hire bike patrollers to watch over bike lanes here.

If the budget gets approved, the budget will also be used to buy bollards that will line the bike lanes to prevent four-wheeled vehicles from parking in the lanes.

Read: SBLB: Most vehicles parked on bike lanes are gov’t-owned

Lawyer Gerry Carillo, the chairman of the SBLB, told CDN Digital in a phone interview that they are planning to hire at least 60 bike patrollers in total to enforce the regulations on bike lanes.

The board found the necessity because there has been a rapid rise in the use of bikes in the city and the bike lanes have caused confusion for many motorists.

“This bike patrol will be primarily assigned in the bike lanes, all 60 of them. As of now we are training 30 patrollers as the first batch and we hope to dispatch them by May 2021,” said Carillo.

The bike patrollers will not only monitor the bike lanes but will also ensure that other vehicles will properly follow the regulations of the bike lanes, including where and when the jeepneys can be unloaded.

The patrollers will also ensure that all bikers traversing the bike lanes are wearing the proper gear.

Read: Bike lanes in 24 roads completed in Cebu City

“Nirequest man gud to si Councilor (Jerry) Guardo nga dapat naka safety gear atong bikers. Ato pud na ipatuman,” said Carillo.

(Councilor Gerry Guardo requested that bikers will wear safety gear. So we will also implement that.)

Bike registration

Since Councilor Guardo has also requested that newbie bikers be trained for safety, the SBLB is now looking into partnering with private individuals who want to open bike parks, where people can practice and be trained to safely ride bikes.

Eventually, this will be a tool for the city government to train new bikers for road regulations so that they will be prepared before going out on the streets.

As of now, Mayor Edgardo Labella has suspended the registration of bikes to the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) due to the pandemic, but Carillo said ideally, this is the path the city may be taking in the future.

Read: Labella suspends bicycle registration hours after CCTO says bikers need to register their bikes

They are planning to register bikes without a fee so that bikers can be traced, protected, or held liable during their travels in the streets.

However, for now, this registration will not be necessary. The SBLB is more focused on polishing the bike lanes regulation and ensuring that these lanes are serving its purpose.

Read: Cebu City SBLB mulls bike lanes from Busay to Tabunan

/bmjo