PH’s First Bus Rapid Transit In Cebu Starts Pilot Operation In September

The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (Cebu-BRT)—the country’s first modern public mass transport system, designed to serve over 160,000 passengers daily once completed—will begin pilot operations in September 2025, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) has announced.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon emphasized the urgent need for a mass transit system that offers enhanced connectivity and mobility for local commuters. I Photo: Department of Transportation - Philippines Facebook

Targeted for full operation in 2028, the ₱16.3-billion Cebu-BRT will feature 22 stations, 62 bus stops, four terminals, and a depot. It will span 17 kilometers of trunk service and 18 kilometers of feeder services connecting the trunk line’s northern and southern portions.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon emphasized the urgent need for a mass transit system that offers enhanced connectivity and mobility for local commuters.

He said that by September, at least three stations will be operational under the project’s first phase. This will cover a 2.38-kilometer dedicated bus lane from the Cebu South Bus Terminal to the Cebu Provincial Capitol along Osmeña Highway.

The three stations—Fuente, Cebu Normal University, and Cebu South Bus Terminal—are expected to benefit at least 70,000 commuters during the pilot phase, he added.

Construction of the Cebu Capitol station will follow after finalizing its detailed engineering design, which will convert it into a median station from the original curbside configuration.

"President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has ordered the pilot operations of the Cebu-BRT and the expedited completion of other stations to serve commuters and ease traffic in the province," Dizon said during a recent meeting with Cebu Governor Pamela S. Baricuatro, Cebu City Mayor Nestor Archival, Vice Mayor Tomas Osmeña, and other local officials.

President Marcos led the project’s groundbreaking ceremony in February 2023 at the Fuente Osmeña Circle in uptown Cebu City.

Describing the Cebu-BRT as the country’s "first bus rapid transit," President Marcos said, “I trust it will also support economic development through travel time savings, environmental improvements, and the reduction of accidents among residents and visitors of the city.”

The project, which comprises three phases, was designed to initially accommodate 83 units of 12-meter buses. In the future, this fleet is expected to expand to include more and longer buses, he noted.

The groundbreaking marked the start of civil works for Package I, which covers the construction of a 2.38-kilometer segregated bus lane with four stations.

“Let me assure all Filipinos that this BRT system has been thoroughly planned and studied by both the national and local governments of Cebu. This effort has spanned years and several administrations. Today, we are finally here to implement this vision and recalibrate the transport system of Metro Cebu,” President Marcos said.

Modeled after successful BRT systems in Seoul, South Korea, and Guangzhou, China, the Cebu-BRT took nearly 20 years to become a reality.

The Cebu BRT is modeled after successful BRT systems in Seoul, South Korea, and Guangzhou, China. (Image: Cebu Bus Rapid Transit Facebook)

The concept was the brainchild of former Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña, who first proposed a bus-based transit system in the 1990s. However, it was only in 2008 that the DOTr formally began planning the project.

After a feasibility study was completed, the World Bank approved a $116-million loan in 2014. Additional funding came from the French Development Agency and the Philippine government.

The nearly ₱1-billion Package I was awarded to Chinese contractor Hunan Road and Bridge Construction Group Co. Ltd. The remaining project phases are expected to be completed before the end of President Marcos’s term in 2028.

President Marcos underscored that the Cebu-BRT is one of his administration’s flagship infrastructure projects, aimed at delivering efficient, reliable, comfortable, and safer public transportation for Cebuanos.