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On air quality in subways
I saw this article on Wired and immediately read it as the topic to me was interesting. I have been using when I lived in Japan in the 1990s and in Singapore in 2010-2o12. I have used the transit system in many other cities including in the US and Europe. And so the topic of air quality in subways (particularly the stations and inside the trains) got my attention. I guess this is not entirely an issue for ground-level and overhead systems like what most of Lines 1, 2 and 3 and the PNR are. Only Line 2 has one underground station (Katipunan Station) and perhaps has that issue. Here is the article about the air in subways:
Baraniuk (April 24, 2023) “The Filthy Truth About Subway Air,” Wired, https://www.wired.com/story/subway-air-health/ [Last accessed: 4/25/2023]
To quote from the article:
“The big unknown is whether all of this particulate matter is actually causing health problems for people. Millions of commuters use metro systems, in many cases for multiple hours a day, five days a week, for years on end. And thousands of transport workers spend even longer in the tunnels. But there are no widespread signs of severe or acute health problems among these populations, even if pollution levels in subways exceed recommended limits. Could there be more subtle, chronic effects, however—impacts on lung, brain, or heart function?”
Indeed, metros or subway systems have been operating for over a century and so far there is limited that we know about the health risks concerning their use by passengers. But this is something to keep in mind as the Philippines builds its first subway line in Metro Manila. The depots and the situation of workers thought may be a different matter. I recall one of my colleagues at the university doing a quick study of the Line 3 depot, which is underground (i.e., underneath the Trinoma Mall), and measurements showed the air quality to be quite bad. Imagine working there and being exposed to that everyday. Those conditions merit further study but require immediate action to improve working conditions considering the impact to health.
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Noise, air pollution and your health
Here is another quick share of an article relating transportation and health:
Hunter, M. (March 27, 2023) “Road Noise Might Be One Reason Why Your Blood Pressure is High,” Medium.com, https://medium.com/beingwell/road-noise-might-be-one-reason-your-blood-pressure-is-high-5f6c7bd69ad8 [Last accessed: 3/29/2023]
To quote from the article:
“After a median of 8.1 years, the researchers discovered a dose-response relationship: The higher the noise exposure, the greater the risk of having a diagnosis of hypertension.
For every 10 decibel increase (in average 24-hour road traffic noise level), there was a 1.07 times rise in the chances of having high blood pressure. The researchers adjusted the data for fine particles (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) exposure.
Exposure to air pollution and traffic noise exposure led to the highest high blood pressure risk.”
Both air pollution and noise are mentioned as issues to be addressed by implementing programs for sustainable transport. Sustainable transport includes low carbon transport as well as the reduction of noise generated by traffic.
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Child’s perspective of road safety
As adults, many of us seem to have forgotten how it was to be a child and to see things from a child’s perspective. This perspective is important in many cases, situations or scenarios. One area where we can use this perspective to improve how things are is in road safety. As they say, streets that are safe for children are safe for everyone else. I am sharing this guide that also includes a project involving coming up with a reverse periscope. The reverse periscope is intended for an adult to have the view of a child.
How Do Kids Experience Streets? The Reverse Periscope Companion Guide
This guide would be something that can be used in road safety seminars or workshops that include some field activities. Participants can use the reverse periscope to simulate being a child as they walk and cross streets. An activity can be designed for transport and highway officials, even local government staff involved in planning, design and assessment of streets.
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On getting started on bike commuting
Here is another article on bike commuting. It really is a challenge to get people into bike commuting even if their workplaces or schools are close to their homes. What more for people who have to travel longer distances between their homes and workplaces or schools?
Bassett, E. (December 1, 2022) “The No B.S. Guide to Getting Started Bike Commuting,” Medium, https://erikbassett.medium.com/the-no-b-s-guide-to-getting-started-bike-commuting-5dd0cbb87e5b [Last accessed:
To quote from the article:
“Assume you’re invisible until proven otherwise.
Like every city I’ve lived or ridden in, yours probably paints pictures on the ground and calls them “bicycle infrastructure.” Road designs encourage excess speed; vehicles aren’t meaningfully separated from cyclists and pedestrians; there are conflicting rights-of-way at intersections, driveways, and so forth.
And that is not right. It’s a sad commentary on urban “planning” in most places that anything but car use requires this degree of paranoia. It points to a profound dysfunction that few (with any serious influence) are willing or even interested to change…yet.
But unless or until it improves, the only viable response is to assume you don’t exist in the eyes of whoever’s driving nearby. “If I weren’t here, would they gun it to make a right turn on red?” Well, assume they will. “If I weren’t here, would they merge up there?” You guessed it: assume they will.
This is unquestionably the worst aspect of bike commuting, and if it’s too stressful in your situation, that’s perfectly fine. But in the spirit of a “no-B.S.” guide, I’d be remiss not to drive home a life-saving lesson that all these years of cycling have so deeply ingrained in me.”
The author also states the difference between bike commuting and sports biking including noting the differences in the objectives or goals for each.
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Why do we keep widening roads?
I’m just going to share this article here. The article from The NY Times asks a question that has been bugging planners and engineers, particularly those who are in government and perhaps under the agencies like the DPWH, DOTr and NEDA. This also applies to planners, engineers and those from other disciplines involved in transportation infrastructure development and particularly roads or highways.
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On having daily walks to improve health and wellness
We begin October with an article about walking, health and wellness. I can relate to this article as we take daily walks, usually in the mornings. One positive outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic and the shift to more hours from home (rather than at the workplace) is that we have been able to schedule and increase time for our walks. And this has led to a healthier lifestyle for us.
To quote from the article:
“When it comes to brisk walking, “at these moderate levels of effort, you are able to increase your aerobic capacity,” Dr. Singh said. In addition to the long-term health benefits, such intensity would also lower blood pressure, moderate blood sugar levels and lower the risk for heart attacks and strokes.
The key is to walk at an intensity that is manageable but also slightly pushes the boundaries of what is a comfortable pace.
“That constant slow stress on your body is what leads to fitness gains,” Dr. Singh said. “If you’re just getting started, this is probably the easiest way to get started and stay committed, consistent and injury-free.””
Star ratings for bicycles
I just wanted to do a quick share of a new method for evaluating road and bicycling infrastructure – cycleRAP. This was developed by the International Road Assessment Program (iRAP), which has established a star rating system as the international standard for road safety assessments. We currently use their Star Ratings for Schools (SR4S) to evaluate the school environment towards ensuring safe journeys for school children. Here’s the link to their website:
To quote from the site: “CycleRAP is an easy, affordable and fast method of evaluating road and bicycling infrastructure for safety. It aims to reduce crashes and improve safety specifically for bicyclists and other light mobility users by identifying high risk locations without the need for crash data.”
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Road safety history – first fatality and crash
Have you ever wondered when the first road crash involving a motor vehicle occurred? Or who was the first person to die (i.e., fatality) in a car crash? Here’s a brief but informative article on this topic:
Sal (April 15, 2022) “Who Was the First Person Ever to Die in a Car Crash?” Medium.com, https://sal.medium.com/who-was-the-first-person-ever-to-die-in-a-car-crash-8385add6cbcb [Last accessed: 4/20/2022]
Were you surprised about the 3 mph speed of the car that ran over the first fatality involving a car? That’s really slow considering the speeds of vehicles these days and how high speed limits are along streets where there are many pedestrians. Meanwhile, the circumstances about the first crash appears to be similar to what we still have now. That is, reckless driving, increasing speed limits and (truth be told) pedestrians not being aware of their surroundings (say what you will but the car was traveling at 4 mph and there was a claim that the driver tried to get the attention of the victim to no avail). I agree though with the author that this was a portent of worse things to come as road crashes has become a top killer and health concern.
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Take a hike or a walk?
Here’s an interesting article calling for people to go out and spend some time with nature.
https://www.inverse.com/mind-body/doctors-free-nature-prescriptions-treat-chronic-diseases
The prescriptions mentioned are not at all new, content-wise but the article does mention that people tend to follow prescriptions from their doctors. Perhaps the prescription will be treated or perceived as a more serious matter compared to verbal ones that are interpreted as suggestions and not really all that serious? No matter, the important thing is to be active and keep walking, hiking, jogging or cycling.
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No vax, no ride – some insights and opinions
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) recently issued a memo stating unvaccinated people may not use public transportation in Metro Manila. People will have to show proof of vaccination (i.e., vaccination card) before he/she is allowed to board the bus, jeepney, van or train, which are all under the jurisdiction of the DOTr. I assume tricycles are not included here since these are under the local government units.
Certain groups quickly slammed the memo as being “anti-poor”. Note though that vaccinations are covered by government funds and are free. You only have to register and show-up for your shots. Given the period when vaccinations started, there should be few or no excuses for not being vaccinated at this time for most people (children under 11 years old are not yet being vaccinated as of this writing). In fact, many vaccination centers have already been giving booster shots from November 2021 and many have reportedly had fewer people getting vaccinated or boosters by December 2021. That changed when the current surge attributed mainly to the Omicron variant of Covid-19 led to a sudden influx of people at vaccination centers. Workplaces requiring their employees to be vaccinated also probably contributed to people being convinced they needed to get vaccinated. Otherwise, they could not earn a living.
A colleague explained that the modality of vaccinations requiring registrations online meant those without smart phones could only do walk-ins. While certain LGUs such as Cainta automatically registered their constituents, and particularly senior citizens, and posted vaccination schedules that covered everyone registered as their constituents, others especially larger LGUs might not have the capacity to do this simplification. Non-vaxxed people will also have to take some form of transport and not everyone will opt to bike or would have their own private vehicle.
Perhaps we should again look to science for an answer to the question whether this policy is good or bad. Ventilation or air circulation-wise, open air vehicles and without those plastic barriers present a better situation for lesser likelihoods of virus transmission among passengers. Many public transport vehicles though are closed, air-conditioned types. People are also obliged to wear masks (shields have been proved as ineffective and unnecessary) so everyone wearing masks should reduce the risk of transmission even with unvaccinated people (remember there was a time everybody when everybody was unvaccinated). Again the key word here is “reduce”. There is no guarantee that one will not get Covid even with excellent ventilation and mask use.
Implementation-wise, there are many challenges here including the additional delays to travel brought about by the vaccination card checks. If there are to be checkpoints, that’s another source of delay (and we already know how checkpoints can result in carmaggedon-level congestion). The even more recent DOTr pronouncement is their intention to deploy what they call “mystery passengers” seems amusing and inspired by similar people mingling in public to tell on people violating this and that law.
Meanwhile, here’s a question that’s easily answerable by “yes” or “no” but would likely elicit explanations or arguments for or against the idea: “Would you, assuming you’re vaccinated, be willing to take public transportation knowing that you will be riding a vehicle together with unvaccinated people?” I think the most common answer would be a “No”. Exceptional would be the “yes” reply if you consider the potential for spreading Covid-19 post-commute (by both the vaccinated and unvaccinated who are either asymptomatic or symptomatic).
As a parting note, a former student puts it quite bluntly in a social media post – “Smoking in public is banned precisely based on the science. Is smoking then anti-poor? And would you ride in public transport with people who are smoking while in the vehicles?” I think we also know the answer to this question without elaborating on the situation.
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Caught (up) in traffic 