The DOTr aims to build more bike lanes before the year ends

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is aiming to nearly double the bike lanes in the Philippines by the end of 2021, as many cyclists are already traversing the streets during this pandemic.

As per the Transportation Assistant Secretary, Steve Pastor, the government agency is targeting to extend the overall length of the country’s bike lanes from 296 km to 535 km. In order to proceed with the building of these additional bike lanes, the Assistant Secretary also stated that the Bayanihan to Heal as One Act (Bayanihan 2) had allotted a budget for this project amounting at P1.1-billion pesos.

As for the budget breakdown, P800-million pesos is then reserved for the bike lanes in Metro Manila, therefore constructing a 338 km bike lane. The project also includes Metro Cebu and Metro Davao, with both places allotted with a P150-million peso budget. Respectively, Metro Cebu will have a 140 km bike lane, while Metro Davao will have a 43 km bike lane.

Since the beginning of the new-normal struck last year, some Filipinos have built up a slight uncertainty towards public transportation given the intense outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. While some people already opted to buy their personal vehicle and drive, other Filipinos, on the other hand, opted to utilize a bicycle as their transport medium. One of the reasons is because it’s more compact and more economical to run, plus, it also adds significant points for your health given that biking is a good form of exercise.

The construction of these bike lanes is strongly being pushed by the DOTr, given that many Filipinos are now using their bikes going to work, plus, only less than five bike lanes, separators, and markings have been built as reported last March. Aside from that, building the additional bike lanes is also expected to reduce the chances of bicycle-related accidents.