Rush Hour Na Naman: Metro Manila's Active Transport Hurdles over Challenges

“𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘸𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘶𝘱 𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘴,” 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘙𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘢 𝘝𝘦𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘢, 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘳𝘥-𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘶𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘺𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘩𝘯𝘪𝘤 𝘜𝘯𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘗𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴 (𝘗𝘜𝘗) 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘶𝘵𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘸𝘰 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘢 𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘬 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘓𝘢𝘴 𝘗𝘪ñ𝘢𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘶𝘴.

Along with vehicle fogs and the bustling facade of Metro Manila roads, commuters face an uphill battle—the lack of a sustainable active transportation system. 

The Burrow ranks Manila second with the worst transportation system and the fifth least walkable cities in the world. This is where multi-use transit, bike lanes, and sidewalks are utilized as it prioritizes affordability, safety, and accessibility compared to road control centered on private vehicles. The key component in implementing this strategy is ensuring that authorities sympathize with commuters. 

“Another struggle is during rush hour, every jeep or e-jeep is already filled with passengers, LRT and MRT have long lines which you must wait if you want a ride going home,” added Riana.

On road safety and accessibility 

Third-year PUP student Mika Ella Baltazar observed that street lights and security patrols are unavailable in many thoroughfares. 

“Some part ng Metro Manila [ay] mahirap [ang access sa safety]. Lalo na kapag walang nakalagay na signage kung saan ‘yung dapat sakayan. So, nahihirapan ‘yung mga tao kung saan ba dapat mag-antay ng sasakyan,” she stated.

This also extends to cyclists who use their bikes everyday—to work or even just grocery shopping. 

Janardan das Ladyong, a biker since 2004, shares his experiences as Manila Bike Commuter on Facebook. He said that the “aggressiveness” of drivers in the city is more prevalent, quite the opposite from the province.

“Kahit may bike lane na, hindi pa rin naman totally safe ‘yung mga bikers sa daan,” he stated.

In 2022, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) Order No. 2020-014 started allowing children up to the age of 15 to use designated bike lanes with the company of an elderly cyclist to go to school. This is to encourage active transport amongst the faculty, employees, and students. 

“May tinatawag silang 8 to 80 [which] in terms of road safety, especially with active transport, [ang] ibig sabihin noon, dapat ‘yung bike lane networks safe s’ya for kids as young as eight years-old or for adults or the elderly as old as 80,” Ladyong added.

In roads where private car-centricity is prioritized, traffic congestion adds to the hurdles in achieving active transportation. This is evident in Statista’s record that says 27 percent of  Filipino commuters spend 30 to 59 minutes on their average daily commute. 

Bye-bye bike lanes?

Furthermore, the moderate air pollution level calls for a better commuting experience via bicycle such as accessibility and safety. Yet, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) is studying the possibility of removing bike lanes in EDSA. As for acting MMDA Chairman Romando Artes in a DZBB interview, half of the bike lanes are not “utilized” and only 1,500 bikers are seen in EDSA daily. 

Rowhe Siy, a five-year active commuter, worries about MMDA’s push as it may result in the worsening of the transportation system in the Metro. 

“I think that they have no good reason to actually want to take out the bike lanes beyond having personal prejudices against bikes and bikers,” they added.

The Communicator reached out to MMDA with a request for an interview, but were referred to DOTr’s Executive Assistant to the Secretary Jonathan Gesmundo. He mentioned that their department disagrees with the MMDA’s proposal and that bike lanes along EDSA should remain.

“The concept of the bike lanes ay magkakaroon dapat ‘yan ng mga dedicated [at] exclusive bike lanes. ‘Wag ‘yan dapat gamitin ng mga iba, not even motorcycles,” he said. 

As roads in the metro struggle to incorporate accessibility for everyone, an investigative report by Rappler’s Iya Gozum found out that half of 22 road segments in the 120-kilometer bike loop in Metro Manila have low road obstructions and better bike infrastructures but only the C-6 road had a good overall score among their tally. 

Siy also echoed the need for continuous bike lanes in the metro. “It would be great if the quality of our bike lanes followed international standards,” they said. 

Meanwhile, PUP journalism professor and 11-year biker Aileen Camille Dimatatac said that the government sustained the needs of bikers during the pandemic only and had no follow-through after. 

“The bike lanes that we have in Metro Manila ay hindi standard. Underdeveloped ‘yung iba at hindi siya properly nagawa,” she said. Aileen also mentioned that metro roads are narrow and not as smooth, so, traffic jams and flat tire incidents are more likely to happen. 

The DOTr, however, recognizes the need to promote sustainable transportation modes as they continue to “solve the problem of traffic, designating and reclaiming road space to provide safe infrastructure for more efficient and sustainable modes of transport such as bike lanes and walkways.” 

Women on their saddle

Moreover, besides road infrastructure challenges, bikers—especially females, encounter harassment while cycling. In 2023, only four percent of female bike commuters were counted in 17 cities (10 in Metro Manila, 7 in provincial cities) compared to 96 percent of male bikers, as per the Mobility Awards. 

With all these issues, women who unfortunately experienced road harassment raised their concerns and urged officials to create a law that is effective for the bikers on Rappler’s Basta Bisikleta forum. 

“[Biking] is dangerous especially for women, because you suffer a lot of discrimination on the road. Mapayat ka, mataba ka, dini-discriminate ka,” shared Dimatatac when two motorists body-shamed her just when she was near her place. Encounters like this may lead to female bikers to be hesitant in bike commuting, she also noted. 

On hurdling the challenges 

Metro Manila has a plethora of obstacles for active Filipino commuters. Ladyong emphasizes that we should focus “[on] moving people, not vehicles.” Dimatatac also advocates for providing “usable and up to standard bike lanes”, the safety of pedestrians, and the proper traffic education for everyone. 

As commuters hurdle the uphill battle, Siy hopes that private vehicle centricity will no longer be the priority of the future transport system by including more at-grade crossings and that people’s mindset about having cars as a symbol of success should change. 

“It's not just achievable, it's required at this point. But with a caveat that [we are facing], it's not going to be easy, and it's going to take years before we finally catch up to where we should be,” they added.

Article: Franchesca Grace Adriano & Patricia Kate Azicate 

Graphics: Aldreich Pascual