When we created Sakay.ph back in 2013, our primary goal was to increase public transport adoption by lowering the barrier to route finding. In simple terms, we figured that if me made it easy for people to figure out what bus or jeep to ride, more people would use public transport.

Now, 12 years later, we've managed to serve a million users, and have weathered massive changes in the public transport situation in the Philippines, the key bits of which we've listed below (not in any particular order):

• Uber entered the market
• Grab also entered the market
• Grab took control of the ride-hailing market when Uber merged their SEA business with Grab.
• Motorcycle-haling apps like Angkas rose to prominence
• Dalian Trains was brought in to supplement MRT3 operations and to replace the aging cars, but usage was stalled due to a host of technical issues
• The Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Plan or PUVMP was started, but stalled due to financing issues (it's currently being replaced by the Public Transport Modernization Program or PTMP)
• GET COMET electric fleets was introduced to the market with varying levels of success
• Meralco started eSakay, which was eventually sold to MPTC
• Point-to-point (P2P) busses were established to provide express routes between terminals
• Parañaque Integrated Terminal (PITX) was built and is now in operation
• The EDSA Carousel/Busway was established during the COVID-19 pandemic, and is continuing to operate
• Bike lanes on major thoroughfares were established, along with the Active Transport department of the DOTr
• The One Ayala Terminal opened to serve as an events and transport hub

In the meantime, transport (both public and private) demand steadily grew, outpacing the capacity of our road network and increasing the travel time and stress for anyone thinking of going out. The decrease in road capacity stemming from this general trend then decreased the profitability of operating road-based mass transport (i.e. busses and jeeps) in Metro Manila, as the traffic reduced the number of trips they are able to make in a day. Combining this road traffic problem with the rise of motorcycle taxis, as well as increased regulatory pressure, many bus and jeep operators soon found themselves quitting the market, causing a systemic shortage in public transport supply.

It was in this transport backdrop that the Philippine Mobility Summit sought to gather stakeholders and the government to come up with solutions that move people instead of the traditional fixation on moving vehicles. It was a people mobility-oriented event that was organized and hosted by citizen volunteers of AltMobility, with the support of other organizations such as Move as One, GIZ, Grab, and the Department of Transportation. There have previously been mobility events that were hosted either by the government (DOTr, DBM, LTFRB, etc.) or development banks (ADB and World Bank), but to my memory, this is the first one that was hosted by a citizen group.

Going to the Event

The event was held in SPACE at One Ayala. With the help of Sakay.ph, I figured that the best way to get there was to ride a bike from my place near ABS-CBN in Quezon City to the nearest EDSA Busway station (Kamuning). That way, if public transport facilities became overloaded during rush hour after the event, I could just bike back home.

On my way to the EDSA Busway Kamuning station, I encountered the infamous Kamuning footbridge, derisively called Mt. Kamuning due to its impractical height (about 5 stories high). Shortly after that, I saw the Kamuning EDSA Busway station but getting to the actual station from the curbside initially stumped me.

To get to the Kamuning Bus Station, I would have had to go up the MRT3 station and then go down the bus station in the center, carrying my bike the entire time. It's not very obvious on how to actually do it, and it looked like the gates were closed. Rather than taking the risk of carrying my bike up and down only to be turned away, I opted to just forge ahead and hoped I could get on the EDSA Busway from Cubao station.

Fortunately, the stairs leading up to the EDSA Busway Cubao Station wasn't very high, so I was able to carry my bike without much effort. Bringing the bike into the bus is, understandably, dependent on the fullness of the bus. I was rejected by the first bus, but was let in by the second, which had doors on both sides of the vehicle. I paid 25 pesos for the fare to One Ayala.

The rest of the ride was uneventful, and skipping traffic was a huge plus. I ended up at One Ayala at exactly 9:00AM. All in all, my travel time was around 35 minutes (including the bike ride and waiting time), which was quite fast! Cycling the entire way would have been around 45 minutes to an hour, and a car ride would have taken 45 minutes to an hour and a half, depending on traffic.

Event

I saw three exhibitors in the summit. One was SMDI Consultants Inc. They do mobility analysis through simulations using Vissim/Visum, among others. Another was 3M, who was showcasing high-visibility labels and signages. The third and last exhibitor I was able to see, Nishimura Construction Inc, provides various pavement tiles for walkability including tactile pavement for the blind.

Since I had brought a folding bike to the event, my bike was allowed inside, and I parked it, folded, in a corner of the event hall. Later on, another bike will also get parked beside mine. The two of us with foldies weren't the only ones who biked to the venue, however. There were also a few others who parked their non-folding bikes in the basement, notably Manila Bike Commuter.

It was quite a pleasant surprise to see many familiar faces who share the same public mobility advocacy. I saw Joshua, the owner of Exion Cycles, the PopCycle team (including Manila Bike Commuter), Arnold Bufi of Tipaklong (who deployed bike sharing in UPLB), Ira Cruz of Grab (a major sponsor of the Summit), George of manilastories.com, bikeschoolasia ambassador Jeza, Camille from SaveTravelPH, Sarah from GIZ, many familiar faces from DoTR and many others.

The actual event started off with a speech from the Department of Budget and Management secretary Amenah F. Pangandaman about mobility and the need to go beyond car-centric development. While on the surface seemed surprising that DBM was so involved in mobility as to open the event with a speech from them, the national (or even local government) budget actually has a lot to do with mobility, especially public transportation.

Public transportation enables economic growth and at the same time needs funding to run, like the MRT subsidies, Service Contracting, and the PUV Modernization Program. So the coordination of banks and funding agencies is critical in making transportation projects successful.

DOTr, represented by Lucas Mangulabnan, presented an initiative to get the public involved in making public transit more accessible for PWD through co-design, inspired by the Queensland Train Manufacturing Program. The program is not yet in place, as actual rules and processes have to be ironed out. I am quite excited for this though, as accessibility is often overlooked in many urban designs–just look at our sidewalks.

The participants were then split into three groups for the breakout sessions: Public Spaces, Public Transport, and Active Mobility. As much as I would have liked to attend both Public Transport and Active Mobility. I cannot split myself into two, so I just attended the Public Transport breakout session.

The Summit was actually preceded by the Philippine Mobility Series which comprises eight talks (called "Mobility Chats") over a five-month period. The output of those chats served as the starting point of the breakout sessions. That way, the breakout sessions doesn't need to be very long to cover the various aspects as there was already prior work done.

The session took about 1.5 hours and discussed issues and potential solutions around public transport. Some discussion points had already been done, and were prepopulated by the transport talks held by AltMobility prior to this event, kickstarting the conversation. One of the key issues discussed was the issue of connectivity, service quality, accessibility, and culture (i.e. making public transport more desirable than private modes).

As for solutions discussed, some that stood out were: enforcing accessibility standards for public transport and terminals like they are for buildings, cultivating a non car-centric culture, empowering LGUs to operate public transport vehicles, and allowing more flexible fare structures beyond a nationwide per-kilometer structure.

The results of our session, as well as other sessions, were presented to the DOTr, Undersecretary Mark Steven Pastor represented the department and received the breakout session outputs in a ceremony.

Coincidentally, on the same day, DOTr Acting Secretary Giovanni "Banoy" Lopez, instituted a department order that all DOTr officials should take public transport at least once a week when going to the office. This is a welcome development so that our officials will experience the result of their decisions.

Heading Back

After the event which ended at 4:00PM, a couple of cyclists, including me, decided to hang out a bit and have dinner in Poblacion. Oh boy, as an enjoyer of relatively chill Makati Car-free days, I finally got my first dose of a Makati Car-ful day. Ironically, I was also a little thankful of the traffic, since it was so heavy that it became less dangerous to ride since motor vehicles were moving very slowly.

I decided to bike all the way back home through EDSA. And as expected, the area outside SM Megamall Fashion Hall was pretty wild. Thankfully I got home safe in around 45 minutes without any incidents.

Moving around Metro Manila should not be this difficult. I do hope we develop more efficient and accessible transport options.