Home » Posts tagged 'public transportation' (Page 2)
Tag Archives: public transportation
Still towards a car-oriented future?
Saw this photo being circulated on social media.
Again, there are many versions of this including the original from a town in Germany that compared 50 people on cars, a bus and on bicycles. The bottom line in the latest images (do these qualify as memes?) is that all these efforts in developing the car, whether regarding the engine or fuel, or perhaps autonomy or connectivity related, ends up being still car-oriented or car-centric. I
t doesn’t really solve our transport problems despite what is being packaged as environmentally friendly. The discussions about this is timely and relevant as electric and hybrid cars are now quickly replacing conventional ones. And there’s a kicker for those driving in Metro Manila, hybrid and electric vehicles are exempted from the travel demand management scheme that is number coding.
How do we veer away from this temptation from technology? How do we keep mode shares in favor of active and public transportation? How do we influence mode choice for the latter options?
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Quezon City’s electric buses
While Quezon City rolled out its new electric buses, I have not seen them along my typical commutes that takes me to C5, particularly and mainly along Katipunan Avenue. Most of these buses are probably deployed along the other routes served by the Q City buses. So I took this snapshot of one that I saw not in QC but along Ortigas Avenue Extension in Pasig City. Maybe it was en route to the end station/terminal at Bridgetown, which is at its border with Pasig?
One of Quezon City’s electric buses
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Article share: What Is Good Transit?
Here’s an article share on transit and what should be the attributes of a good transit system:
Source: What Is Good Transit?
To derive the main points from the article:
- Good transit is frequent
- Good transit is reliable
- Good transit is (reasonably) fast
- Good transit feels safe
- Good transit is equitable by nature
This is a good read whether you’re a regular commuter taking public transportation or perhaps one looking into topics for research or advocacy.
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Needed: MMDA Transport Authority similar to Transport for London
I am sharing this article from Business World about the idea (or is it already a proposal) for an MMDA Transport Authority. I seem to recall there were already proposals for something like this but I have to check for references and sources. In the meantime, I am content with sharing the following:
On Nov. 11, 1999, the British Parliament established the Greater London Authority. Prior to that, there was no single entity managing the entirety of London. The governance of the city was fragmented, and responsibilities for planning, transport, and other city-wide matters were divided between local boroughs and national authorities. The Greater London Authority was established […]
Source: Needed: MMDA Transport Authority similar to Transport for London
Traffic congestion along EDSA
I’ve taken some photos of EDSA traffic as well as the EDSA Carousel buses. Here are the more recent EDSA photos I took as I traveled from Makati to Quezon City after serving as a panelist in the Energy Transitions Dialogue last Wednesday.
I took this photo as we passed Guadalupe. I like this in the sense that it shows the clear ROW for the EDSA Carousel buses. One wonders why most of these motorists would prefer to drive their vehicles rather than take the bus or the MRT.
You can see in the photo that EDSA’s northbound side is clogged as far as the eye could see. If you check the image under the MRT bridge, it shows the southbound side was also congested. These photos were taken around 4 PM so this was still an hour before most people would be going home from work.
I mentioned in my comments at the panel that one consequence of giving number coding exemption to electric and hybrid vehicles is that this further diminishes the effectiveness (is it still effective?) of the MMDA’s number coding scheme. I don’t have the stats of how many EV’s and hybrids are registered and running in Metro Manila. Those numbers combined with actual counts will tell us how they are impacting traffic. That would be a nice topic for a paper. 🙂
The photos pretty much describe the transport situation in Metro Manila. Many of our major cities will be heading this way unless they improve their public transportation fast. If they do, then public transport mode share will be sustained if not increased. Metro Manila’s is already being eroded by inefficient public transport, motorcycles (including taxis) and perhaps unintentionally, electric and hybrid vehicles.
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Flash floods in Quezon City
The rains poured again this afternoon and it was quite intense for more than an hour in Quezon City. We had floods at the UP campus and along Katipunan Avenue. Reports from various sources stated that there were also floods along EDSA and other major roads in the city. The floods come at a time when QC flagged flood control projects undertaken by the DPWH without the city’s blessings.
The flash floods were probably proof of the shoddy work associated with DPWH and its contractors. While QC residents and the LGU should share the blame for these, the scale and frequency of the floods indicate drainage issues.
The floods have led to intense traffic congestion and commuters being stranded due to public transport vehicles not being able to turn around. The latter is one of the cases where public transport appears to be lacking. Their numbers may not be lacking at all but the traffic conditions prevent their turnaround to address the demand for transport.
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Is it possible to have zero traffic deaths in a year?
Is it possible to have zero traffic deaths in a year? Is it even probable? As it turns out, yes. Here’s an article on what Helsinki did in order to make this a reality:
Andrei, M. (August 1, 2025) “Helsinki went a full year without a traffic death. How did they do it?” ZME Science, https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/helsinki-went-a-full-year-without-a-traffic-death-how-did-they-do-it/ [Last accessed: 8/19/2025]
To quote from the article:
“A lot of factors contributed to this, but speed limits are one of the most important,” said Roni Utriainen, a traffic engineer with the city’s Urban Environment Division.
More than half of Helsinki’s streets have a speed limit of 30 km/h (approximately 20 mph). Half a century ago, the city barely had half of its area with a 50 km/h limit (30 mph). They gradually worked to reduce the speed limit, especially around schools and kindergartens.
Smarter street design also played a key role. Pedestrian and cycling infrastructure was prioritized for upgrades in recent years. More and more people started using public transit or bikes, or just walking. Substantial investments also made public transit more efficient and reliable.“Public transport in Helsinki is excellent, which reduces car use, and with it, the number of serious accidents,” Utriainen noted.
Another key component was bringing the police on board. Helsinki introduced automated traffic cameras and enforcement systems, which also helped bring down reckless driving.”
On posting the correct information on buses
I took this video on the way home via Ortigas Avenue Extension. The destination of the bus showed it is en route to the Guangzhuo Train Station. Apparently this not just for this bus but for others like it (same model).
While this is basically a minor or trivial thing, bus companies should still be providing the correct information on their buses. This is part of the service they provide to commuters.
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An aerial view of the PNR’s rail revival
I would just like to share a few photos I took while our plane was turning towards our Bicol destination upon take off from NAIA.
I will again pose the following questions to my readers: will the NSCR become the game changer it’s supposed to be for both long distance travel and commuting (super commuting for some cases)? Will it decongest McArthur Highway and NLEX? Will there be a significant shift from car use to rail? Or will those taking road-based public transport be the ones mainly shifting to rail?
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Is there really a shortage of public transportation in Metro Manila? – Part 1 – Introduction
I will be doing a series of articles here on public transportation. More specifically, I will try to answer the question in the main title of the series – Is there really a shortage of public transportation in Metro Manila?
The quick answer probably is “yes” but we need to examine this concern from different perspectives and reasons so we can be objective about the “why” part of the shortage. Shortage may mean a real lack in terms of the number of public utility vehicles (PUVs) with approved franchises or perhaps the number actually operating on any given day. These two are actually different because it is possible to have fewer PUVs operating compared to the approved number or to have more PUVs operating than the approved number. The latter means there are “colorum” or illegal operations (i.e., vehicles providing public transport services without franchises).
Among the reasons why there is a perceived shortage of public transportation are as follows:
- Fewer than the number of franchises approved are operating.
- PUVs are not able to make a reasonable turnaround (e.g., due to traffic congestion).
- PUV drivers and operators refusing to operate their vehicles.
- Other factors.
- Any combination of the above including “all of the above.”
I hope I can write about these in a manner that can be easily understood – in layman’s terms.
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Caught (up) in traffic 