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What to look forward to Philippine transportation in 2021
I usually wrote a year-ender for transport but somehow never got to it. I’ve spent much of the break working on projects that have been extended due to the pandemic’s impacts on their implementation. Two of these projects are being implemented in Zamboanga City where we are lucky to have hard-working counterparts and a very cooperative city government. I think given what have transpired in 2020, there’s much to expect in 2021. I also want to be hopeful and optimistic about the outlook for this year. So positive thoughts for now. Here are things to look forward to in 2021:
- More bike lanes around the country – these include the bike lanes to be constructed using the billions of pesos allocated for Metro Manila, Metro Cebu and Metro Davao. Is there a plan? None yet unless you count the sketch mapping exercise people have been doing. Sure, the DPWH came up with guidelines for bike lanes designs but these are a work in progress at best if compared to the existing guidelines from countries that have built and maintained bike facilities for a very long time now (e.g., Netherlands, Australia, even Singapore).
- Construction of a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) in Cebu – this is a much delayed project (more than a decade in the making already) that needs to be implemented already. This year might just be the year? We certainly hope so. That EDSA carousel is still far from being the BRT the Philippines need to be a model system for its cities. I still think Cebu can be a better model for other cities than Metro Manila. And so a BRT success there has a better chance of being replicated in other cities that need a mass transit system now.
- More rationalized public transport routes in major cities – by ‘rationalized’ I am not limiting this to the government’s original rationalization program but also to the other reforms that are being introduced this year including service contracting. Whether the latter will work wonders, we’ll get a better idea of it this year. Will services be better? Will drivers improve the way they drive? Will this be cost-effective in the long run? These are just some of the questions that need to be answered, with some of those answers hopefully coming this year.
- Full scale construction of the Metro Manila subway – would you believe that there’s actually little work done for this project aside from the preparatory and PR work that have been the focus the past few years. It seemed like they’ve been doing realignments and groundbreakings every year. Meanwhile, they haven’t even started tunneling yet. To be honest, I don’t think there will be an operational subway by 2022. I’ve seen subways being built in Tokyo, Singapore and Vietnam, and you can’t do even a demo project in 1.5 years time.
- More air travel – as the vaccines are delivered and administered, there should be a feeling of more safety and confidence for people to travel again. Much inter-island trips are actually done via air travel. Airlines have lost a lot in the last year and are certainly going to come up with nice deals (I already saw a lot of promos from various airlines that I usually book for my flights – PAL, Cebu Pac, JAL and SIA.) Hotels and resorts, too, are welcoming tourists with great deals. So perhaps it will be a rebound year for tourism and…air travel.
- More rail transport in general – hopefully this year will be the year when the Line 2 extension becomes operational. Meanwhile, other projects like the PNR and Line 3 rehabs, the Line 1 extension, and Manila-Clark railway line construction continues. Perhaps this year will also see the construction of Mindanao Railways.
What do you think are things to look forward to in Philippine transportation in 2021?
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On the DOTr Guidelines for Public Transport – Aviation Sector
Here are the guidelines for the Aviation Sector. My only comment here is that many people are anxious about when they can travel again, particularly to other parts of the country mainly for business or to go home (e.g., many students have been stranded in the cities where they go to school and away from their hometowns). Part of this anxiety is the thinking that airfares will increase significantly as airlines are forced to reduce capacities for their aircraft to adhere to physical distancing guidelines. Gone, probably, are the discount fares like the Piso fare promos.
Related to this, I have received emails from 4 airlines I frequently used – Cebu Pacific, Philippine Airlines, Singapore Airlines and Japan Airlines. All provided updates on their respective efforts to ensure the future air travel will be safe, health-wise. As for the airport terminals, that’s another story…
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Inflight meals on Philippine Airlines
I recently wrote about the inflight meals on Cebu Pacific. This time I am posting photos of the inflight meals on Philippine Airlines. To be fair and accurate, the following photos show inflight meals on board international flights (MNL-SIN and SIN-MNL). The airline is a full service airline so PAL’s fares already included the meals.
Beef and rice for the wife, but not because they ran out of chicken and pasta
A pleasant surprise that came with our meal was our dessert in the form of an Auto chocolate bar. These were fine chocolates from Davao.
I opted for the chicken and pasta dish. The meal also included dried pineapple that you can have as dessert or snack (for later during the flight).
On the flight back to Manila, we both had beef and pasta
The surprise came in the form of dessert – ice cream!
This was very good ice cream c/o of SATS, Singapore’s airline food concession
Details on the ice cream on the container
The ice cream was manufactured in Thailand
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Limited – Inflight meals on Cebu Pacific
My friends and I were just talking about inflight meals prior to boarding our Cebu Pacific flights last week. En route to Zamboanga, we didn’t have to get some refreshments for the typically 1.5-hour flight. There were many choices to eat from at NAIA Terminal 3. However, heading back to Manila on a lunchtime flight, we joked about what could be available on the plane. We all had our experiences of ordering items on their menu for flights scheduled at different times of the day (e.g., red eye, last flight) and it always seems as if the airline didn’t have many if not most of what appears on their menu.
Lucky Me cup noodles and pretzels for lunch
To be fair, the airline offers pre-ordered meals that they do deliver inflight. We got pre-ordered meals for our flights to and from Singapore last year. But not everyone would usually avail of this option and there is real demand for inflight meals even if there were just pastries or quickly prepared (i.e., instant) meals. I don’t remember the last time we were able to avail a meal more decent than the cup noodles shown in the photo. In fact, we were curious about the new items they had in the menu that included champorado (chocolate porridge). That was supposed to be available last December 2019 but so far we haven’t had the chance to have it inflight.
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On airport congestion again
I have been traveling a lot the past months and most of these trips require air travel. We’ve experienced quite a number of delays including waiting for about an hour inside an airplane. That happened after boarding and being informed by the pilot that they have been instructed by Manila air traffic control to standby where we were. Where we were was one of the major cities in Mindanao so that meant instant delay to our travel. Other times, we were on time; leaving around the original ETD and landing around the original ETA. To be fair, my most recent flights were quite okay with our plane landing 15-20 minutes ahead of the ETA. This recent variation in the travel times show that congestion is not necessarily a big a problem as it was months ago or even a year or so ago. Perhaps there have already been adjustments, for example, in airlines’ juggling their fleets to reduce turnaround times. Air traffic control may also have been optimized for various airports. This challenge to reduce airport congestion both on the ground and in flight is a continuing effort by airports and is not limited to Manila.
Aircraft queuing for take-off at Changi Airport in Singapore
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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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Back in Zamboanga – arrival
I was back in Zamboanga last week for a short workshop. We were supposed to arrive just before 6AM as we took the first flight from Manila. Our flight was delayed, however, and we arrived around 7:30AM instead. I will write about this in another post. Meanwhile, here are some photos upon our arrival in Zamboanga International Airport.
We deplaned from the rear door of the aircraft and that afforded me this shot of the plane and the terminal.
I admire the architecture of the airport terminal. It is an example of architecture appropriate for the city/locale with its rich cultural heritage.
Luggage of arriving passengers are unloaded from the aircraft while a tanker refuels the plane. You can see the fuel hose attached to the wing of the aircraft.
Passengers enter the arrival area of the terminal
Passengers and stevedores crowd around the single baggage conveyor at the claim area.
We found this interesting tarp as we exited the airport terminal showing some statistics on Zamboanga’s population.
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Aerial photo: Diliman, Quezon City
The aircraft we were flying on in a recent trip circled on the approach to NAIA and we were afforded some terrific opportunities to take aerial shots of Quezon City. This was before the rains of the Christmas holidays so the skies were clear of clouds. Here is one of the photos I took showing the University of the Philippines Diliman campus.
That wide road on the left is Commonwealth Avenue and you can see part of the Elliptical Road at the bottom left. There are few large patches of green in Metro Manila and many are in the largest city – Quezon City. You can see that these include the campus and Balara.
Aerial photos are no longer that rare these days as there are many who take shots from drones. Then, of course, there are shots like these you can take from the plane you’re riding. Have a nice Sunday!
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On inflight meals again: Emirates
I decided to take Emirates for my recent trip to The Netherlands as I opted to have a stopover in Dubai to have some recovery time. Travel time between Manila and Dubai took about 8 hours and between Dubai and Amsterdam about 7 hours. I thought (and friends have also told me) that this was better than having a very long flight where you’re practically confined to the aircraft. I have also been informed that the inflight meals on Emirates were better than most airlines even on economy. I must agree with that observation and I’m now posting some of the “stolen” shots I took of the inflight meals.
Breakfast served on the Manila-Dubai leg of my trip
Breakfast on the Dubai-Amsterdam leg of my trip
Menu on the Dubai-Amsterdam leg of my trip
The lunch selection was okay and I always thought that one doesn’t have to gobble up everything served to you inflight. Eat and drink just enough so you won’t feel hungry or thirsty on a long flight. Check out the food if the taste suits you. If you don’t feel eating or it doesn’t taste right to you then perhaps you should pass or opt for some light snacks.
I refrained from taking photos of my meals back to Manila but they were again alright compared to most inflight meals I’ve had. I guess the better ones I’ve had would be on my long haul flights to the US with Japan Airlines (JAL). Of course, I am sure other people would have other opinions about inflight meals including those who categorically state these are unhealthy. You are certainly entitled to your opinion but keep it to yourself and don’t even try posting it here. 🙂
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On inflight meals
I remember having full meals during domestic flights I took with my family back in the 1970s and 1980s. Morning flights provided for a good enough breakfast, noon had a good enough lunch, and evenings had good enough dinners. I say “good enough” because there seems to be a general aversion to airline food among passengers. To be fair, the meals served on Philippine Airlines (PAL) domestic flights in the 1970s and 1980s were okay. They were not gourmet or what you’d expect at good restaurants but the meals are not garbage or awful as some people would state. I think many people expected too much from airline food. Perhaps they want the food served on First Class or Business Class to be the same served on Economy?
I enjoyed my meals on Economy Class on Singapore Airlines, Japan Airlines and Thai Airways. And recently, I also enjoyed the meals served on my Qantas flights between Manila, Sydney and Melbourne. Here are some photos from those flights:
Healthy snack on my Melbourne to Sydney flight with Qantas
Beef and steamed vegetables on my flight back to Manila
Ice cream bar for dessert
Afternoon snack – the noodles were good
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Caught (up) in traffic 