A study on making the Pasig River ferry an augmentation to the train services to ease the transport shortage in the National Capital Region is now being undertaken by the Department of Transportation (DOTr).
Once completed, the department will bid out the contract to develop the Manila-Bay- Pasig River- Marikina-Laguna Lake ferry system by next year.
DOTr Assistant Secretary for Planning and Project Development Leonel Cray de Velez told reporters that the project being studied will provide an alternative to east-west transportation corridor in the NCR.
“So as you know, we have the North-South Commuter Railways, we have the subway. If you see the maps, those are primarily north-south corridors,” he explained.
“We do not have what we call east-west corridors for mass transportation and Pasig River naturally is there and traverses east-west. So unlike a railway where we still have to build the tracks, for the Pasig River, it’s there. All we need to do is build stations and also buy ferries. So it’s naturally there already and we hope to take advantage of that,” the official added.
De Velez said the DOTr is working with the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center on what is called the Manila Bay, Pasig River, Marikina River, and Laguna Lake ferry system, Business Mirror reported.
He said this is part of the initiative of the President and the First Lady to enhance the Pasig River and “make it livable again.”
The project also aims to create good walking spaces and help enhance urban development nationwide.
The feasibility study for the project is being conducted to gather information of the possible number of passengers who can take the ferry. This is crucial in determining the stations and how many stations will be created.
He said anecdotal evidence indicates that a lot of Filipinos living in Marikina and Rizal travel to the University Belt and the Central Business Districts like Makati.
But these are merely “anecdotal” evidence.
“Until we have quantifiable studies and surveys, these are all anecdotes. So that’s what we’re doing right now. We’re figuring out how many people will actually use the ferry service in the future,” de Velez said.
Once the feasibility study is completed this year, the project will be submitted for evaluation of the interagency Investment Coordination Committee (ICC) and approval by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA).
“A big focus of the administration is to use private expertise, private capital, and private efficiency to be able to develop our transportation system,” de Velez said.
Part of the study includes the use of electric ferries as well as the possibility of allowing bicycles on board these ferries. This is also consistent with the government’s efforts to encourage active transport.
De Velez said the interconnectivity of the Pasig ferry system is one of the primary concerns of commuters in terms of maximizing its use.
“One of the things we are considering is allowing bikes on board. So that’s one possibility as well, rather than having mga bike racks,” de Velez said.
“So there are two options…these are having bike racks on the station or allowing bikes inside the public utility vessels or vehicles.”
Developing Pasig River
Earlier, Department of Human Settlements and Urban Development (DHSUD) Secretary Jose Rizalino L. Acuzar, who also heads the Inter-Agency Council for the Pasig River Urban Development (IAC-PRUD), said this is one of the reasons the project is not only for beautification.
The revitalization project aims to capitalize on the full potential of the Pasig River and bring it to the level of other major waterways such as the Thames River in London, the Chao Phraya in Bangkok and the Seine River in Paris.
Acuzar said notable among these waterways, aside from being popular tourist attractions, are the commercial and mixed-use developments that surround it.
With the successful revitalization of the Pasig River, commuters can transition from surface roads to water transport through the project through bridge walks. There will be major points as pick-up and drop off.
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