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Category Archives: Terminals
Manila’s PUV stops
Last week, I went to a meeting somewhere at the Mall of Asia complex and took a couple of photos of the public transport stops in the City of Manila. These seem to be the most modern designs in the metropolis and bears a slogan – Ang Bagong Maynila (The New Manila).
I’ll try to get photos of stops from other LGUs of Metro Manila to compare with the photos above.
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Zamboanga City Integrated Bus Terminal
I open the year by sharing photos of the Zamboanga City Bus Terminal. It is a ‘central’ terminal as most most buses terminate here and cannot proceed to the city center. At the terminal, passengers may transfer between buses, jeepneys and vans.
View of the terminal from the national highway. There are driveways leading to and from the terminal from the highway and one can appreciate the expanse between the facility and the main access road.
There are covered walks connecting the terminal to the national road.
Provincial buses and long-distance vans at the terminal
Provincial bus arriving at the terminal
Jeepneys at the terminal
Motorcycles parked along a shaded area. The lamp’s vintage design seems to be a good accent to the terminal.
Close-up showing the spacious parking area shared by cars, jeepneys, motorcycles and even tricycles
Another look at the covered walkways leading to the national highway. Not all public transport go to the terminal because of the fees and the distance for the diversion from the highway.
Jeepneys waiting to be filled with passengers prior to departure
A look at the front of the terminal shows a wide driveway and the connection of the covered walkway to the main entrance
Another look at the integrated terminal from the highway
We will be evaluating the terminal soon as part of a study we are doing for the city. More photos and some assessments about its features soon!
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Public transport terminal at the Sta. Lucia East Grand Mall
Sta. Lucia’s East Grand Mall reconfigured its transport terminal and made it somewhat more formal than it was before. Previously more like a informal terminal with jeepneys parked along their driveways, the mall relocated its terminal to be closer to the Line 2 Station currently under construction just across from the Robinsons Metro East Mall and Sta. Lucia’s main access road from Marcos Highway.
Jeepney station for eastbound PUJs including those bound for Cainta, Taytay, Angono and Binangonan via Felix Avenue (formerly Imelda Avenue) and Cainta Junction
There is space for 4 to 5 jeepneys depending on how they are parked. There are also seats for waiting passengers and the area is fully occupied during the peak hours in the afternoon and evening when there is higher demand and jeepneys are not able to come back as fast to pick-up passengers.
This is a welcome development as passengers have a better place to get a ride. The terminal is more secure and protected from the environment (i.e., it is practically covered as shown in the photos). Then, of course, there is the proximity from the Line 2 Station making transfers between rail and road transport more efficient. The walk between the station and the terminal is not a difficult one as there should be adequate space along the Sta. Lucia mall driveway that has an improved pedestrian sidewalk, too.
I will post more photos of this terminal soon!
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On good transit stop designs
We interrupt our regular programming to share this good reference for designing bus stops:
Transit Center (2018) From Sorry to Superb Everything You Need to Know about Great Bus Stops, transitcenter.org, http://transitcenter.org/publications/sorry-to-superb/#introduction [October 2018]
This is a new publication and though the focus is on bus stops, the principles and guides presented are very much adaptable and applicable to other public transport modes as well, particularly the road-based modes we have in the Philippines. The article contains a link for those who want to download the entire report.
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Tacloban City’s New Transport Terminal
Tacloban City has what is called a new transport terminal located to the northwest of downtown and across from the new Robinsons mall in the area. Here are a few photos of the terminal taken earlier this year.
Vendors selling mostly food items including local delicacies
The City Treasurer’s Office has a makeshift post at the terminal to collect fees from transport operators including buses and vans using the terminal.
The terminal hosts an Extension Office of the City Treasurer and also has a K-9 unit to help keep the terminal safe and secure. The dogs work regularly to sniff out illegal substances that may be carried by people using the terminal.
Passengers wait for their buses or vans at the terminal.
The waiting area is not air-conditioned but is relatively cool and is clean.
Another view of the passengers’ waiting lounge
Passengers may purchase bus tickets at the terminal prior to boarding a bus.
The same goes with vans including those called mega taxis
View of the front of the terminal
A view of the terminal from the transport parking lot
A view of the terminal from mall across from it. Note the sign at the left side of the photo? The office of the city’s traffic management and enforcement unit (TOMECO) is located at the second floor of the terminal.
Tacloban hopes to continue development of the terminal area that will eventually be expanded to have an even larger lounge for passengers, a hotel and more commercial spaces aside from berths for public transportation.
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A quick look at the BFCT in Marikina
I went to SM Marikina recently and had my companion take some quick photos of the transport terminal project of former Marikina Mayor and MMDA Chair, now Congressman Bayani Fernando (BF). Following are some of the clearer shots as we were moving when these were taken.
A look at the terminal located just beneath the two overpasses connecting Marcos Highway to C-5.
The driveway to and from the terminal lot.
Moving towards SM Marikina under the LRT Line 2 structure, you see rows upon rows of trucks. I assume these are for sale and are there for display to prospective buyers.
Leaving SM Marikina, this is the view of the trucks parked at the lot beneath the Marcos Highway and Line 2 bridges.
Approach to the driveway of the terminal showing the buses currently at the BFCT.
A closer look at the buses parked at the terminal. The green buses are RORO buses that the serve the West Philippine Nautical Highway route.
A quick look at some of the stores at the terminal. These are mostly the sari-sari/carinderia types you see in most provincial terminals. Among the merchandise are biscuits and cookies in containers of different sizes. These are popular pasalubong for travellers to relatives and friends in their destinations.
The sign on the right is intended for vehicles coming from C-5 that are allowed to make a U-turn near the junction with Marcos Highway to get to the terminal. This, however, takes them into direct crossing conflict with vehicles coming up from the riverbanks heading to Marcos Highway.
It would be nice to see some statistics about the number of passengers using the terminal as well as their characteristics such as origins and destinations, including transfers (e.g., how do they get to or from the terminal and what modes do they use). I suspect that there are not so many people using this terminal and the numbers will not significantly improve once the Line 2 extension is completed and the new end terminal and its environs are developed in Masinag, Antipolo City.
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Eastern Metro Manila transport depot?
The eastern transport terminal that had been under development along the Marikina riverbanks and across from SM City Marikina does not seem to be progressing in terms of the public utility vehicles it is supposed to be attracting and dispatching. Not even the heavy promotion of a tiangge or goods market in the area could attract people.
Passing the area, one can see trucks and other heavy equipment parked and occupying much of the terminal’s space. It seems to have become more of a depot than a working public transport terminal. I think this is to be expected as the designation and development of this area as a terminal for the east seems to have been undertaken haphazardly. For one, the connection to the Line 2 Station at Santolan is not that good and requires a lot of walking in a not so comfortable or convenient environment. Meanwhile provincial buses terminating at the terminal would have to be routed via C-5 with those from the north passing through the very congested Katipunan and those from the south also deliberately modifying their routes for this terminal. Connections with other modes is also quite problematic. The location just isn’t as strategic as Cubao or Crossing for this terminal to succeed in the natural sense. While I am still hoping I am wrong here, the gut feel and the observations every time I pass by the area says otherwise.
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On the East Metro Transport Terminal in Marikina
This site has been visited a lot the past few days by people searching for information on the eastern transport terminal that’s being developed in Marikina City just across from SM City Marikina. I wonder if its for a study (i.e., students doing research) or perhaps some folks curious about the signs they’ve seen while crossing the Marcos Highway bridge across the Marikina River.
Signs informing people about the existence of a transport terminal beneath the bridge
The sign also states BFCT, the first part of which are the initials of the former MMDA Chair/Marikina Mayor. CT probably means ‘city transport’, ‘city terminal’ or ‘central terminal’? I haven’t been to SM Marikina lately so I haven’t had the opportunity to see how complete the facility is and if it is already operational. However, one can see from the bridge, as you travel along the outermost eastbound lane, that work is ongoing and there are vehicles (mostly vans, jeepneys and small trucks) that are parked there.
Is this a good location for a public transport terminal? I believe so; considering that there is a railway station nearby and the area is a convergence point for a lot of people (not only those residing in Marikina and Pasig). Do I think this should be a provincial bus terminal of the same level as the ones proposed for the north and south of Metro Manila? Yes, but only for trips bound for the east (e.g., Rizal and Infanta, Quezon) and south (e.g., Quezon, Laguna, Bicol) via the eastern route (Marcos Highway, Antipolo-Teresa Road or Manila East Road). I don’t think it is appropriate for trips heading to Boracay, Baguio or Ilocos. Buses headed for the latter destinations should terminate at the proposed north and south terminals. Buses to/from those places that would be terminating in Marikina would mean they would have to travel along C-5 in order to get to this eastern terminal. If these are in significant numbers then the traffic generated by such a terminal will contribute to congestion along C-5 and Marcos Highway. Of course, such proposed terminals should be subject to rigorous studies as these facilities can be major traffic generators and some mitigating measures must be in place to address potential issues.
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Construction starts for the Line 2 Masinag Station
After several months of waiting, the Masinag Station of the Line 2 Extension project will finally start construction. The contractor has already mobilized and very soon the actual construction work will be starting. Following are photos I captured via my dash cam:
The contractor, DMCI, already installed temporary traffic signs from Masinag Junction.
The contractor, DMCI, also already installed concrete barriers to delineate their staging area for the project.
This is the likely location of the elevated Masinag Station; right across SM City Masinag and Cornell Hospital.
Masinag Station will probably be the highest station for any railways in the entire country judging from the height of the elevated tracks. I have yet to see the plans for this station but it should be a challenge in accessibility. How many steps would it take to go up or down the station and the platforms? How will, and will it be integrated with the surrounding developments like SM?
The Antipolo City Government’s official Facebook page already announced the official ceremony starting the construction to be held on May 30, 2017 (Tuesday). The advisory also cautioned travelers about the traffic congestion expected in the area affected by the construction. Masinag is a major junction where Marcos Highway and Sumulong Highway intersect. Construction period will be 18 months or 1.5 years but given the efficiency by which the same contractor was able to complete the elevated tracks, I am optimistic that they may be able to complete Masinag Station in less time. I wonder though if the ceremony tomorrow also includes the start of construction for the Emerald Station across Robinsons Metro East in Pasig. Let’s just hope that the Line 2 Extension will be operational by end of 2018 and be able to help alleviate the traffic woes along its corridor. This will definitely help improve the transport to the east of Metro Manila and directly benefit those from Antipolo and Cainta in Rizal, and Marikina and Pasig in Metro Manila.
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Updates on the Line 2 Extension: What’s next?
Marcos Highway is part of my regular commuting route and so I have been able to observe the progress of the construction of the elevated tracks for the extension of Line 2. The contractor, DMCI, is nearing the completion of their part of the project. Unfortunately, the stations and the electrical/power systems for the extension have not been bidded out by the DOTr and so there are not a few doubts whether the extension will be operational by 3rd quarter of 2017, which is the original completion date for the whole project. The construction of the two stations alone are expected to take some time and also will have a big impact on transport and traffic despite the construction sites being more concentrated around the stations at Emerald and Masinag. Here are a couple of photos showing what it looks like along Marcos Highway.
DMCI has almost completed clearing the stretch of Santolan to Masinag of their equipment. The barriers that delineated their work space are mostly gone, freeing up a lane each along either side of Marcos Highway. This has eased traffic along this major thoroughfare connecting Metro Manila to the east.
The pedestrian overpass across Vermont Royale has been retrofitted so the center section passes under the Line 2’s structure.
Timing is of the essence for the two additional stations of Line 2. As I said, the projected completion and start of operations was 3rd quarter of 2017. Of course, the last quarter of this year would still be most welcome but further delays mean more losses on the part of commuters and, overall, the government. Perhaps it was a mistake for the previous administration to have not included the stations in the package that DMCI eventually got and now has almost completed? Maybe the current administration should expedite the remaining parts of the Line 2 extension. This should prove how serious the current government is with its promises for better public transport (i.e., mass transport).
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Caught (up) in traffic 