Agencies start BRT impact study on Cebu city jeepneys

BRT illustrations for Cebu

A baseline study covering the passenger jeepney drivers and operators affected by the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project route will be conducted starting next week.

BRT project head Rafael Yap said the data will identify who and how many will be affected, their concerns, their training requirements, educational attainment, other sources of income, where they live and other basic profile information.

“We want to be able to address all the concerns of the passenger jeepney operators and drivers and their families. This information will be useful for us to draft the appropriate social management,” Yap told reporters yesterday.

The study starts on February 16 and ends on March 13.

Training
Both the BRT Project Group of Cebu City Hall and personnel from the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) 7 will conduct the survey.

The Cebu City government already has an agreement with the Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) to provide training to passenger jeepney drivers and operators that will be displaced by the project. The 23-kilometer BRT route starts from barangay Bulacao to barangay Talamban in Cebu City.

Last month, the LTFRB ordered its regional director Reynaldo Elnar to proceed with the study and submit it not later than March 31.

“We’ll process (the survey) and come up with a report. We’ll talk also to the training providers of the Tesda  for the training and livelihood programs,” Yap said.

He said personnel of the Cebu City government and regional LTFRB will be standing by the routes affected by the BRT to inform passenger jeepneys about the study.

He said solutions are not limited to programs or assistance that only the drivers will receive.

Yap said there were instances in the BRT’s social management plan and industry study in which some drivers would rather have their children or other dependents receive the interventions and assistance given by the government.