Commuting woes force more Pinoys to walk, ride bike

President Marcos wants his administration to be known for a railway renaissance, but Filipinos who commute daily to school and work are finding public transport in worse condition than ever.

- ELIJAH FELICE ROSALES

Mobility advocate Alyssa Belda, 26, pedals her way to the University of the Philippines (UP) in Diliman, Quezon City every day for work. However, on rainy days, she takes the jeepney to keep herself dry in the downpour.

It takes the same time — about half an hour-to reach UP, whether Belda powers her bike with her own legs or rides the jeepney.

Her commute is plagued by age-old problems: road closures, this time for the construction of the Metro Rail Transit Line 7 (MRT-7); vehicle congestion, in her case along Elliptical Road and the traffic bottleneck entering Commonwealth Avenue.

The jeepney can only do so much in squeezing past these gridlocks.

Data collected by local and foreign researchers show that it is becoming increasingly harder for Filipinos to commute around the metro.

Initial results from the Active Transport Strategic Master Plan (ATSMP) reported that walking is now the main mode of transport among Filipinos, ahead of tricycles and jeeps.

Like Belda, more and more commuters are willing to walk longer distances and take more time to reach their destination.

The ATSMP has found that Filipinos are fine with walking, as long as the distance is just about half a kilometer and takes around 15 minutes.

Funded by the Department of Transportation (DOTr), the ATSMP aims to develop the country’s national framework for active transport such as cycling and walking. It seeks to propose designs and strategies for the development of bike lanes and pedestrian networks.

To date, the ATSMP has gathered the insights of more than 2,900 households, mostly from Manila, because it is considered one of the worst cities for traffic congestion.