New public utility vehicles in Cebu
There have been a lot of new models of vehicles serving as public transport in Metro Manila. It came as no surprise that we found similar vehicles (e.g., Beep or modern jeepneys as some people refer to them) as well as buses in a city that was supposed to have had the first operational Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line in the country. Sadly, the Cebu BRT has not been constructed and now national government agencies and the local government is mulling a light rail transit system instead. Here are some photos of the Beep vehicles operating in Cebu as well as a couple of bus services.
Beep mini-bus beside an old jitney – the vehicle sizes are comparable but the Beep capacity is larger. The Beep is also air-conditioned and features a layout similar to buses.
Free shuttle bus service provided by Robinsons Malls
Beep serving the City Hall – IT Park route
MyBus depot at the SM City Cebu North Reclamation Area – these are currently plying the route connecting SM City Cebu with SM Seaside. The route is actually one that was considered for a pilot Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line – supposedly the first one in the Philippines – that did not come into reality.
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Another look at the Mactan Cebu airport taxi stands
This is the last of three posts about our recent arrival at Mactan Cebu International Airport. Following are more photos; this time from exiting the terminal building to the transport stand and driveway.
Arriving passengers exiting the Terminal 1 building and heading to the driveway for transport
Directional signs for various road transport options at MCIA. These include metered taxi, white taxi (airport taxi) and bus
The driveway also includes bays for private vehicles. These are mixed with rideshare vehicles such as those with Grab.
Metered taxi stand – there used to be a Grab booth here but I couldn’t find them in the area so either they might have set up somewhere in the airport or perhaps it is assumed that people can manage with their apps on their smartphones.
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A little bit of history – on how the US interstate highway system came to be
Here’s one of those quick shares that I usually post here. I am a bit of a history buff and mixing that with transport will likely lead to a post like this. Here is a short article about an event in the history of the US Army that happened 100 years ago:
editor@aashto.org (2019) Celebrating Highway History: The US Army’s 1919 Cross-Country Convoy, aashto.org, https://aashtojournal.org/2019/07/12/celebrating-highway-history-the-u-s-armys-1919-cross-country-convoy/ [Last accessed: July 12, 2019]
The article was particularly interesting for me because of two items: the road conditions and the man behind the US inter-state highway system. It took them a little over 2 months to cross the continental US because of poor road conditions. Many people have no sense of history and appreciation of what has been accomplished over the years and how difficult it was to travel at the time. I haven’t done the cross country trip but I have close friends who’ve done it and are thankful for the generally good roads they could use for the experiential road trip. Meanwhile, the person in the article – then Lt. Col. Dwight D. Eisenhower – is a man who made his mark in history at first as the Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in the European Theater in World War 2, who would later on become President of the US. I read elsewhere that the US interstate highway system was designed so aircraft may use them as runways in cases when the US were at war and the enemy had bombed their airports and airfields (just like what the Japanese did in the Pacific).
Do we have similar accounts for our roads and bridges in the Philippines? Were there key persons who may or may not be larger than life figures instrumental in developing our road infrastructure with their vision and leadership (Marcos doesn’t count because of his bogus military record and corrupt regime)? It would be nice to compile these and perhaps it should be a collaboration between the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) and the National Historical Commission (NHC). They could even get the history departments of local universities involved for us to understand the evolution of transportation in this country.
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Mactan Cebu airport arrival – Part 2
This is a continuation of the feature on arriving at the Mactan Cebu International Airport (MCIA). In the previous post, I shared photos of our arrival at the new Terminal 2 and our walk from T2 to the domestic Terminal 1.
Passengers continue to the corridor on the Terminal 1 side
Take-off run for a commercial flight
Cramped corridor for arriving passengers heading to the baggage claim area
Bridgeway or tube at T1
We emerged from the corridor to the T1 building and a sign showing us the way to the baggage claim area
Descending the stairs or escalator to the arrival level and the baggage claim area
Visitors are greeted with posters showing Cebu’s attractions as well as ads for residential and resort developments. Also shown in the photo are information boards on arriving flights.
Baggage claim area for domestic flights – notice the passengers with their carts or trolleys crowding along the conveyor system.
Another look at the baggage claim area and a less crowded conveyor
More photo of the arrival including the taxi stand soon…
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Mactan Cebu airport arrival – Part 1
We were treated to a somewhat pleasant surprise upon arriving in Cebu’s Mactan International Airport a couple of weeks ago. The surprise was that our plane taxied to and berthed at the new Terminal 2, which was for international flights.
A view of the MCIA Terminal 2 from our taxiing aircraft
A closer look at MCIA T2 as our plane turned towards the apron
Passengers deplaning via the T2 tube
A view of MCIA T2 from the airbridge
View of the tarmac and one of the airbridges as we walked along the corridor lined along the terminal’s departure level that connected to another corridor for the old Terminal 1.
Corridor along Terminal 2 connecting to Terminal 1
A snapshot of the tarmac
The interior design elements of MCIA Terminal 2 evoke a local, Asian flavour
Spacious corridor towards Terminal 1
A look at an aircraft berthed at MICA T2
Bridge connecting Terminals 1 and 2 with a view of the air traffic control tower
Passengers walking to T1
Interphase of T2 with T1 at this point of the bridgeway
More on MCIA soon!
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Aerial photos of Cebu and Mactan
I enjoy taking aerial photos when the opportunities present themselves. Leaving Cebu for Manila a couple of weeks ago, I was able to take some nice photos as or plane took off and cruised over Mactan Island. Here are some of the better photos:
A view of Mandaue and Cebu cities across from Mactan Island as our plane took off from the airport
Here’s a first look (a bird’s eye view) of the ongoing construction of the third bridge connecting Cebu and Mactan Islands. This is part of the Cebi-Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) project.
Here’s another view of the island with the airplane engine in the photo.
Here is a close-up photo of the island where tall columns will be built to support the CCLEX bridge. The viaduct in the photo is the one connecting downtown Cebu City with the South Reclamation Project area that includes the SM Seaside development.
The SM Seaside as seen from the air
Here’s a view of the South Reclamation Project area with SM Seaside as our plane turned north towards Manila.
Another view of Cebu City and the SRP
Here’s my favourite shot of Cebu and Mactan Islands with the SRP on the foreground, the CCLEX bridge under construction and Mactan International Airport
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Why more low capacity PUVs?
I’ve written about the recent additions of new (the government I think prefers to call them ‘modern’) model jitneys along corridors like Marcos Highway, C-5, Quezon Avenue, Espana Avenue, etc.). My main comment has always been about the capacities of these vehicles considering the high transport demand along these routes where the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) have authorised these so-called “experimental” routes. The services actually overlap with existing lines of other PUVs like jeepneys, UV Express and buses. Their value is apparently the single, direct ride they provide to commuters, who otherwise would have to transfer vehicles to get to their destinations. The popularity of these “experimental” services only underlines or emphasizes the need for rationalising transportation services especially in Metro Manila.
There are surely opportunities to improve the network including those taking advantage of the improvement of rail services. But rationalisation is not just about changing routes. It also means determining the right capacity vehicles for these routes. Thus, high demand corridors require higher capacity modes in terms of both vehicles and their frequencies. Perhaps authorities should look into the examples of P2P bus operations as a way of determining the type of vehicles to be deployed as part of the so-called experiment rather than appear to be just promoting these modern jitney models. PUV modernisation, after all, should also mean upgrading the existing vehicles servicing certain routes by replacing them with ones that are more efficient and with higher passenger capacities.
This mini-bus lookalike has a capacity of 23 passengers. That’s practically the same as the newer model jeepneys that are generally longer and with some cleverness of the driver and conductor may seat more (i.e., Benches placed inside the jeepney increases their seating capacity. This set-up, however, is unsafe.)
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Advisories and policies pertaining to EASTS 2019 in Colombo, Sri Lanka
The 13th International Conference of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies (EASTS) will be held from September 9-12, 2019 in Colombo, Sri Lanka. However, with the bombings last April 2019, a lot of people mainly prospective participants have worried about the security situation in the city. The local society in the Philippines, the Transportation Science Society of the Philippines (TSSP), also communicated its members’ concerns to the EASTS Secretariat. While TSSP received informal correspondence on the situation and assessment by the secretariat, only recently has the EASTS policy been released:
http://easts.info/policy-about-easts-2019-conference/
In addition to this, the organisers have sent the following email to assure prospective participants about the security situation in the city and country, which I quote below:
“Dear Author,
Thank you for submitting a paper for EASTS 2019, the 13th International Conference of the Eastern Asia Society for Transportation Studies hosted by Sri Lanka Society of Transport & Logistics (SLSTL). We are pleased that EASTS has decided to continue with hosting the conference in Sri Lanka, despite the unfortunate incident, that took place on the 21st of April 2019 taking into consideration the rapidly improving situation in Sri Lanka.
As the host institution I write to encourage your participation and wish to convey that the decision to continue was made based on the following facts and security measures currently in place.
Current Situation
· There have been no further terror attacks since 21st April the day of the Easter bombings.
· Security Forces have identified those responsible and arrests have been made both in SL and overseas.
· The attacked churches (St. Anthony’s Shrine, Kochchikade, St. Sebastian’s Church, Katuwapitiya and Zion Church, Batticaloa) and hotels (The Kingsbury, Shangri-La Colombo and Cinnamon Grand Hotel) are now restored, refurbished and opened to the public.
· Emergency has been lifted and the country is functioning normally.
· All schools, universities, Government and private workplaces, hotels, public places, etc. have implemented body and bag/luggage scanning.Travel Advisory
· UK relaxes travel advisory to Sri Lanka
https://economynext.com/UK_relaxes_travel_advisory_to_Sri_Lanka-3-14701.html
· India relaxes travel advisory to Sri Lanka
https://economynext.com/India_relaxes_travel_advisory_to_Sri_Lanka-3-14596-7.html
· Switzerland relaxes travel restrictions to Sri Lanka
http://www.colombopage.com/archive_19A/May28_1559020675CH.php
· China lifts travel advisory on Sri Lanka
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2019/05/26/china-lifts-travel-advisory-on-sri-lanka/
· Australia relaxes travel advisory on Sri Lanka
https://www.newsfirst.lk/2019/06/14/australia-relaxes-travel-advisory-on-sri-lanka/
· Italy relaxes travel advisory
http://www.dailynews.lk/2019/05/31/local/187125/italy-relaxes-travel-advisory
· Germany soften travel advisories on Sri Lanka
http://www.dailymirror.lk/business-news/India–Germany-and-Switzerland-soften-travel-advisories-on-Sri-Lanka/273-168105Hotel Security
Hotel security has been strengthened and meetings are held periodically. SLSTL is satisfied that all the nominated hotels and the Waters’ Edge, the site of the conference have made arrangement that allow a safe environment for the conference to be conducted. See below article in this regard The Kingsbury stands strong.
http://www.ft.lk/travel-tourism/The-Kingsbury-stands-strong/27-677814Government Support
In order to solicit the highest level of Government support for the conference, Prof. Tetsuo Yai, President, EASTS and Prof. Shinya Hanaoka, Deputy Secretary General, EASTS have also been invited to make a personal visit to Sri Lanka to meet the relevant Government Ministers and Heads of Security Establishments ahead of the conference to finalize arrangements.As such we are confident that Sri Lanka is now very much safer than before the incident and we encourage you to take part in the conference without fear.
lovesrilanka.org / #LoveSriLanka
http://lovesrilanka.org/We look forward to welcoming you in Sri Lanka for EASTS 2019.
Thank you.
Yours Sincerely,
Prof. Amal S. Kumarage
President – Sri Lanka Society of Transport and Logistics (SLSTL)
Senior Professor, Department of Transport & Logistics, University of Moratuwa”
Here is the link to the EASTS page providing information about the conference: http://easts.info/easts-conference/
I am among those looking forward to traveling to Sri Lanka this coming September. Sri Lanka is a beautiful country and I became familiar with it mainly through a close friend I met when we were students in Japan. We still keep in touch through email after he moved with his family. They are now residing in Australia.
Zamboanga airport departure
Before I post more about Mactan Cebu International Airport, here is the last of the recent series on Zamboanga’s airport. Here are some more photos of the airport terminal when we flew back to Manila earlier this month.
Philippine Airlines check-in counter at Zamboanga Airport
Cebu Pacific check-in counters at Zamboanga Airport
Pre-departure area
Pre-departure area
Zamboanga Airport terminal – the architecture
View of runway 09-27 as the plane turns in prior to taking off
Fires as seen from the plane after we took off
Soon, I will be back in Zamboanga for some field work so that means probably some more photos of the airport and maybe street scenes or road conditions.
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Back in Cebu
I am back in Cebu for a few meetings for a conference we are organising together with the University of San Jose-Recoletos. Upon landing, I snapped this photo of the Mactan Cebu International Airport’s second terminal, which is designated for international flights. The control tower is also in the photo as well as part of the old terminal that is used for domestic flights.
View from our Cebu Pacific Airbus A320
I will post about the airport and some street scenes in Cebu in the next days. But before those, I think I still have one on Zamboanga airport that I have been procrastinating about. I will also post something about the conference we are organising later in July. Abangan!
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Caught (up) in traffic 