Amid flooding concerns in the city, a project implementer of the Davao High Priority Bus System (HPBS) assured that the 1,040 buses that will be running on the city’s streets are calamity-resilient.
During Monday’s Sakay Ta Bai program over the Davao City Disaster Radio (DCDR), Department of Transportation (DOTr) Project Evaluation Officer IV Missiles Samoza-Barro said that disaster issues are being addressed on short and long term bases considering that the city is now experiencing flooding during heavy rain pours.
Samoza-Barro underscored that there have been talks with the Department of Public Works and Highways and the Local Government Unit (LGU) of Davao to address the street flooding woes in the city for the new buses to travel smoothly during rainy weather.
“Naa tay gina-implement both short term and long term mitigations. Sa long term, working with DPWH and LGU kanang sewage system (We are implementing both short term and long term mitigations. For the long term, we are working with the DPWH and LGU to fix the sewage system),” she said.
She added that there are a total of 1,040 buses to be deployed in 29 bus routes once the project will be implemented. This is composed of 333 Metro Davao (electric), 525 Davao Inter (Diesel and Davao Feeder (Diesel), and 182 Davao local (Diesel). These are expected to reduce air and noise pollution. The figures exclude the spare buses that will replace broken buses.
“In the short term, sa pag design sa bus, we will make sure na it is climate-resilient. Hydraulic siya dili lang lang ko sure kung unsa kataas ang iyahang clearance from the ground para maka-wade ug baha pero hydraulic siya. Kung mudagan taas so pag naa na sa platform mubaba (For the short term, we made sure that the design of the buses is climate-resilient. It will be hydraulic but I am not sure about the height from the ground to enable it to wade through the flood. If it is running, it will elevate but when it is on the platform, it will go down),” she said.
Another measure that will be implemented is the provision of alternative routes once there is flooding in the certain segment. For instance by 2023, if there iz flooding in La Verna Hills, Subdivision, Buhangin will remain unresolved, they will find alternative routes for the buses.
“Dili siya mu-wade sa baha pero mutuyok siya sa lugar kung asa siya makatuyok. Naa may mga roads dira nga pwede tuyokan sa bus so we will provide alternate routes (The buses will not wade through the flood in that area. We will provide alternate routes instead),” she added.
She further said that the buses will be designed to make them more accessible to differently-abled people.
The HPBS will anchor on intelligent transportation systems equipped with modern technologies such as WiFi, Global Positioning System (GPS), and automated fare system among others. This project, which seeks to address transportation demands, is expected to be completed by the third quarter of 2023.
The official expressed optimism that the transportation modernization program will likewise facilitate economic activities in the city. CIO
