CEBU CITY, Philippines — The Cebu City government is planning to implement a subway project that will traverse Barangay Bulacao in the south to Talamban in north as a means to ease vehicular traffic here.
But first, City Hall will have to secure the approval of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) that will determine its feasibility and identify a suitable location for the planned subway.
To start the entire process, Cebu City Councilor Rey Gealon, chairman of the Traffic Management Committee (TMC), drafted a resolution urging the DOTr to conduct a study that will determine the feasibility of the planned subway project.
Gealon said the resolution that he authored was approved during the City Council’s regular session on Wednesday, January 31.
“If this can be undertaken in other countries like Singapore, why not here (in Cebu City)?” Gealon told CDN Digital in an interview.
In his resolution, Gealon said that implementing a subway project here was expected to provide faster and reliable mode of transportation, especially for long distance travel.
“The goal is to provide effective mass public transport. So if this can be realized, I am certain that most, if not all car owners traversing the Ban-Tal corridor, will patronize this one and leave their cars at home,” he said.
A subway is “an underground railroad system in which electric trains travel through tunnels below ground.”
It is used to provide a “faster and more reliable” mode of transportation, especially in “densely populated” areas.
Gealon expressed hope that the DOTr would also find he need to have a subway in Cebu City.
“It depends upon the study and recommendation of DOTR, but it would be best if it can serve the riding public from as far a route from Bulacao to Talamban and vice-versa,” Gealon said.
Last December 29, 2023, Gealon also requested the Cebu City Transportation Office (CCTO) Planning Section and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation (MPIC) to study the feasibility of having a skyway or expressway in Cebu City.
READ: Another expressway in Cebu City?
Gealon pointed out that the growing number of vehicles has made city roads narrower.
He said that building new road networks was the best solution to the city’s growing congestion problem since the widening of existing roads was no longer possible.
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