Bridges between Cebu and Mactan
Our route to the airport was via the Marcelo Fernan Bridge (the second bridge connecting Cebu and Mactan Islands). While on the bridge, I saw this opportunity to take a photo. That photo shows all three bridges currently connecting the two largest islands of Cebu Province.
In the distance is the CCLEX Bridge (Cebu – Cordova Bridge) that connects Cebu City’s South Reclamation Project (SRP) and the town of Cordova in Mactan Island. CCLEX is a cable stayed bridge and the third to connect Cebu and Mactan. Closer is the first Mactan-Mandaue Bridge or simply First Bridge is a steel truss bridge. The bridge we were on, the Marcelo Fernan Bridge, is also a cable stayed bridge.A fourth bridge is planned and should soon be constructed to the north of the second bridge.
–
Fare rates for the Antipolo – Iloilo bus service
I found these information on fare rates for the newly opened Antipolo – Iloilo bus service:
The information above indicates that there are three routes to Iloilo:
1) On the left is the route via the central roads of Panay Island (i.e., via Passi City, Iloilo);
2) In the middle is the route to the east of Panay Island to Kalibo, Aklan and Roxas City, Capiz, and terminates at Estancia, Iloilo; and
3) On the rights is the route along the west and crossing the province of Antique. This terminates at Oton, Iloilo and will pass through the town of Miag-ao, which is famous for its church recognized as a UN Heritage Site.
To book a seat on the bus, here is the step-by-step procedure shared on social media on the official Facebook page of Robinsons Antipolo:
–
Antipolo to any point of the Philippines
I wrote several times in the past about every road leading to Antipolo. Recently, a new route opened between Antipolo and Iloilo. This is interesting for me since my father’s hometown, which I also consider mine, is Cabatuan, Iloilo. We usually flew to the province though we also rode on inter-island ferries when I was a child. I have memories riding on the ships operated by the now defunct Negros Navigation and Sulpicio Lines. I had never used the SuperFerry ships that now connect the major islands of Luzon, Visayas and Mindanao.
Buses at the public transport terminal at Robinsons Antipolo include those regularly dispatched to Cubao and Quiapo. There are many provincial and RORO buses including those bound for the Bicol Region and Eastern Visayas (i.e., Samar and Leyte). The latter are operated by several bus companies including RRCG whose buses are shown in the photo.
RRCG bus bound for Iloilo via Batangas, Mindoro, Aklan (Caticlan), and Antique. The fare to Iloilo City is 2,700 pesos. It’s 2,400 pesos until Caticlan.
New sign for the route connecting Antipolo City and Iloilo City. Caticlan in the province of Aklan is along the way. I estimate the travel time to be roughly a day considering the bus will still go to Marikina’s transport terminal across from SM City Marikina. From there, the bus will proceed to Batangas Port via C5, SLEX and STAR Tollway. The bus will queue to be loaded unto a RORO ferry bound for Mindoro. It will travel by land to cross Mindoro Island before being transported via ferry from Mindoro to Caticlan.
One bus company provides services to destinations in the Bicol Region. Both air-conditioned and ordinary (non-aircon) buses are available.
–
Dog on board – a cute dog on our Cebu Pacific flight
As we were boarding the plane that will take us to Cebu, we were ‘treated’ to the presence of another passenger. One passenger brought his dog with him on the flight. I don’t know what breed this is but it was really cute. One of the flight attendants carried the dog as the passenger placed his bags to the overhead bin.
Wearing the shades and hood as they deplaned.This was the first time I was on a plane with a passenger who had his/her pet with him/her. Bigger dogs would have to be on carriers and transported as baggage/freight. I know some airlines allow for big dogs to be in the main cabin if they have a ticket and a seat like other (human) passengers. There should be some guidelines for this as to what breeds are allowed including whether the dog has a pleasant temperament.
–
On the ‘modern jeepney’, consolidation and the modernization program
Last April 30, 2024, the deadline for consolidation of jeepney operators and drivers expired. That basically and generally meant the phaseout of individuality in so far as operators were concerned. It also meant, for many, the phaseout of the conventional jeepney in favor of the so-called ‘modern jeepney’, which are actually mini-buses by specs and design. There are many ‘modern jeepney’ models (I recently posted photos on these.). Some are better than others in terms of their features including the engine, seats, air-conditioning and suspension. Thus, there are models that are superior to the conventional jeepneys that are all practically custom built and utilizing surplus engines. Others may be of questionable quality as evidenced from reports that many are more prone to breakdowns than others. There is, of course, the issue of cost. These new vehicles are more expensive than conventional jeepneys and many individual operators cannot afford to purchase new units even with the current incentives government has provided. This is probably the bigger issue rather than the vehicles themselves despite claims pertaining to culture and aesthetics.
Operators and drivers were required to consolidate or organize themselves into cooperatives. Banks or other financial institutions were supposed to engage these cooperatives for financing the acquisition of new vehicles. While the DOTr has pushed for this, there seems to be a lot still lacking from their modernization program considering the feedback/ backlash it has received from stakeholders. The department has pursued modernization and rationalization at least more than 2 decades ago. These have not materialized for various reasons including shortcomings on the government side and the persistent resistance of the transport operators and drivers. The latter and their supporters though are not without fault as they have not provided viable alternatives aside from status quo.
–
Another roadblock for active transport?
The Metro Manila Development Authority (MMDA) recently released what they claim to be their counts of bicycle traffic along major roads in Metro Manila from 2020 to 2023.
These are supposed to be official data as it is issued by the government agency in-charge of traffic management for Metro Manila roads (aside from its other functions and roles). What are not stated, and are actually very important details, are the locations of the counts and when the counts were conducted. The Traffic Engineering Center (TEC) that was under the DPWH and currently with the MMDA used to publish traffic volume maps for major roads in Metro Manila. So along EDSA, for example, the volume per section are shown on the map. The same for other major roads like Commonwealth, Quezon Avenue and SLEX. The thicker lines mean higher volumes along those sections, and vice versa. However, they did not consciously count bicycles (only motor vehicles) and perhaps MMDA only started counting during the pandemic (i.e., 2020). So there is no one value to represent a road. And counts vary over time of day, day of the week and even throughout the year (i.e., monthly variations).
There were many reactions to the MMDA’s posting of the data and most were critical and even derided the agency for what to them appeared to be inaccurate data. The problem is that it seems there are no other counts that can validate and perhaps refute the MMDA data. Previous bike counts were not conducted according to how the MMDA and DPWH count vehicles. That is, counts are typically done over a 14 or 16-hour period and ideally on several days in a year. Expansion and conversion factors are applied based on established stations along major roads that are supposed to have more frequent if not continuous counts. This methodology is how Annual Average Daily Traffic (AADT) is computed. Call it car-centric if you like but the methodology is very much applicable to bicycles as well. Peak hour counts for bikes are not enough and the peak hour factor for motor vehicles does not apply to bicycles (if this is to be used to expand/convert peak volumes to daily values). In fact, if you go into the math, there should be a peak hour factor for each type of vehicle considering each vehicle’s volume will vary differently over time. So yes, the solution here is to conduct bicycle counts according to how MMDA or DPWH counts vehicles and these should be done along several stations along major roads (e.g., those in the table above) to validate the MMDA counts.
More on this topic in the next post!
–
On non-roadway traffic deaths and incidents
I found this interesting article about non-roadway crashes or incidents that may cause deaths. These are often recorded in buildings including parking lots or facilities but are not generally collected and reported by governments as part of road crash data.
Wilson, K. (April 18, 2024) “Why Does the Vision Zero Movement Stop At the Edge of the Road?,” Streetsblog USA, https://usa.streetsblog.org/2024/04/18/why-does-the-vision-zero-movement-stop-at-the-edge-of-the-road [Last accessed: 4/28/2024]
From the article:
“According to the latest report from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, a shocking 3,990 people died in car crashes that occurred outside of the traditional transportation space in 2021, the last year for which data is available. One-quarter of those people were outside vehicles, including, pedestrians, cyclists, wheelchair users, and even children simply wishing their parents goodbye before they were accidentally run over by the caregivers who loved them most; all lost their lives after they were struck by drivers on private property, like parking lots, driveways, drive-thrus, and private roads.”
These crashes very likely contribute to under-reporting. One wonders, for example, how many incidents occur in mall parking lots, schools and subdivisions. Recall the incident in Ateneo years ago when a child got ran over and killed as students were being dropped off in the morning. Surely there are other incidents though not involving deaths, and these need to be recorded among traffic incidents. The deaths need to be included in the reports. These are important information to complete the picture of road traffic safety in any country including the Philippines.
–
A widened Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue and opportunities for complete streets
Col. Bonny Serrano Avenue is one of the major roads directly connecting EDSA (C-4) and C.P. Garcia Avenue (C-5). The last time I used the road was before the pandemic. So it came as a surprise to pass by last weekend and see the avenue had been widened. I guess that pretty much “solved” the traffic along this usually busy thoroughfare that is part of jeepney routes to Cubao (via Murphy – referring to Camp Aguinaldo, which was formerly Camp Murphy). The avenue was renamed after a Korean War Hero (my uncle fought under him with the 10th Battalion Combat Team in the Korean War in the 1950s). It was called Santolan Road before.
What used to be a 4-lane road is now an 8-lane road
The area used for road widening was carved out of Camp Aguinaldo. The headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) gave up quite a lot of square meters for this project and you can see from the photo the now very wide avenue. I thought perhaps they could have placed a median island where they could have also planted some trees (note how exposed to the sun the area is). They also could have designed protected bike lanes along either side of the road. These could have connected the EDSA and C5 bike lanes. And, of course, they should have also improved the pedestrian sidewalks. You can see how narrow the sidewalks are and how electric and light posts block pedestrians using the sidewalks. There were opportunities here for the application of complete streets and its not too late to do just that.
I assume there are many men in uniform who use bicycles for their commutes and recreation. Camp Crame is just across EDSA from Camp Aguinaldo and Bonny Serrano Avenue also passes along the headquarters of the Philippine National Police (PNP). Down the road towards Marikina City in Libis is another camp, Camp Atienza, which is home to the 51st Engineering Brigade of the Philippine Army. I mention these camps as I know many there regularly use Bonny Serrano for commuting and many use bicycles. A cousin-in-law (my wife’s first cousin) who is an army officer bikes a lot from Camp Atienza and Camp Aguinaldo and tells me there are many enlisted men who bike to work.
–
Article share: on making more affordable neighborhoods
I’ve been commenting about how transportation cannot be isolated and the need to relate it to other factors such as housing or home location choice. The latter though is also affected by other factors as well that affect the affordability of homes near the city centers or CBDs where workplaces and schools are located. The result of course is sprawl or the encouragement of sprawl. Private companies take advantage of this or contribute to this ‘encouragement’ by developing land farther away from the center. Thus, for Metro Manila’s case, many people reside in the peripheral provinces of Bulacan, Rizal, Laguna and Cavite. There are even those who choose to reside in Pampanga, Bataan and Batangas.
Kayatekin, C.S. and Sanmiguel, L.U. (April 16, 2024) ” ‘Urban form’ and the housing crisis: can streets and buildings make a neighborhood more affordable?” The Conversation, https://theconversation.com/urban-form-and-the-housing-crisis-can-streets-and-buildings-make-a-neighbourhood-more-affordable-224108 [Last accessed: 4/23/2024]
Quoting from the article:
“Our main finding was that the bottom-up districts we looked at had, overall, more small-scale apartments. The reason is simple: they had more small-scale buildings, built on small-scale plots. Once divided into apartments, this produces small apartments – homes in the bottom-up areas were 10% to 23.1% smaller than their top-down counterparts. This also made their real estate markets for small homes more competitive, and therefore more affordable.
However, our study showed there is nothing inherently magical about bottom-up areas. Their more intricate housing stock has little to do with the layout of streets and blocks, and a lot to do with how that land is built upon.
Plot size appears to be the deciding factor: the districts with greater numbers of small buildings built on small plots supported a denser and more affordable housing stock, regardless of whether they were top-down or bottom-up.
Older bottom-up areas seem to naturally lend themselves to having more small-scale plots. This is likely due to the incremental development of these areas, and the complex land ownership patterns that developed as a result. However, there is no reason why a top-down area cannot be designed to replicate these characteristics.”
–
When Driving Isn’t an Option: Steering Away From Car Dependency
Here is another quick share of an article from Planetizen. The article relates about people who cannot drive so driving for them is not an option:
Source: When Driving Isn’t an Option: Steering Away From Car Dependency
Quoting from the article:
“Zivarts shows that it is critical to include people who can’t drive in transportation planning decisions. She outlines steps that organizations can take to include and promote leadership of those who are most impacted—and too often excluded—by transportation systems designed by and run by people who can drive. “
There are actually many who can drive and who would like not to drive but then opt to drive because of limited and inconvenient or uncomfortable options. I think government agencies and local government units are supposed to work on this but like people who try to ‘solve’ traffic by isolating it from other factors such as housing, they ultimately gain little ground if not fail. It doesn’t help that the decision makers such as government officials and politicians drive or are driven. Of course, there is still such a thing as empathy so let’s not discount those who do use cars for their commutes but also work hard to improve transportation. It’s just that such people are rare these days and may not be in a position to move things to enable significant improvements to the transportation system.
–
Caught (up) in traffic 