DOTr should prioritize bike, pedestrian lanes

Move As One Coalition, a mobility advocate group, is urging the Department of Transportation (DOTr) to prioritize the installation of more bike lanes and pedestrian walkways to ease the commute of millions of Filipinos.

Move As One Coalition suggests that the 2026 budget for active transport be increased to as much as P3 billion citing that more Filipinos are now shifting to cycling or walking for their daily commute.

Robert Siy, Move As One Coalition co-convenor, said DOTr has to shift its infrastructure mindset to prioritize the completion of active transport facilities.

He said DOTr is placing more focus on large-scale railway systems, such as the P873.6-billion North-South Commuter Railway (NSCR) and the P488.5-billion Metro Manila Subway Project (MMSP). These big-ticket rail projects require at least a decade to become operational.

The NSCR, the country’s single largest infrastructure investment to date, will operate entirely by 2032. Partial operations for the NSCR are scheduled by 2027 for the Malolos-Valenzuela section and by 2028 for the Malolos-Clark line.

Meanwhile, the MMSP faced challenges in obtaining right of way in business districts and posh villages, pushing completion to as far as 2032.

Siy said it is important for DOTr to make more transit options available, and this can be achieved if the agency invests in active transport.

“For us, active transport infrastructure is what you can deliver faster and it has the most inclusivity, and it has profound impact on the mobility of ordinary Filipinos.”

DOTr was given just P69.38 million for active transport projects in the National Expenditure Program (NEP) for next year. However, lawmakers injected an additional P250 million to boost funding for bike lanes and pedestrian walkways.

Siy believes at least P3 billion is needed annually to build up the active transport network in line with the demand. Siy said Filipinos are becoming more inclined to bike or walk to school or work to avoid dealing with traffic congestion.

Preliminary results from the Active Transport Strategic Master Plan (ATSMP) showed walking is now the main mode of transport among Filipinos, beating tricycles and jeeps.

“About one third of all trips around our big cities are three kilometers or less, short trips, making them bikeable and walkable,” Siy said.

So far, the ATSMP discovered that Filipinos are amenable to walk to their destination which are half a kilometer and around 15 minutes away.

The ATSMP seeks to develop the country’s national framework for active transport like cycling and walking. It also aims to come up with designs and strategies for the development of bike lanes and pedestrian networks.

DOTr expects to complete revisions to the ATSMP by the first quarter of 2026. The revisions were supposed to be concluded this year, but researchers faced struggles in data gathering due to the recent midterm elections.