{"id":239589,"date":"2019-12-09T06:01:16","date_gmt":"2019-12-09T11:01:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/?p=239589"},"modified":"2019-12-09T06:01:16","modified_gmt":"2019-12-09T11:01:16","slug":"pasig-ferry-service-viable-alternative-transport","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/2019\/12\/09\/pasig-ferry-service-viable-alternative-transport\/","title":{"rendered":"Pasig Ferry Service viable alternative transport"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>
FILE: Onlookers of the relaunching event lounge aboard the “Mutya ng Pasig” 1 and 2, both loaned by the Pasig City government to the PRFS at the Lawton Ferry Station on Monday (Dec. 9). (Photo by Avito Dalan via PNA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

MANILA<\/strong>\u00a0— National and local government officials on Monday called on commuters to try the relaunched Pasig River Ferry Service (PRFS).<\/p>\n

During the relaunching ceremony at the Lawton Ferry Station in Manila, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chairman Danilo Lim said the PRFS is a viable alternative for commuters wishing to avoid the hassle of vehicular congestion in the streets of Metro Manila.<\/p>\n

\u201cIsipin ninyo yung trapik natin sa<\/em>\u00a0Edsa (Epifanio Delos Santos Avenue) —\u00a0samantalang dito walang<\/em>\u00a0traffic,\u00a0tuluy-tuloy. Nanggaling kami kanina sa Guadalupe hanggang dito sa<\/em>\u00a0Lawton, 45 minutes (Think about the traffic in Edsa — instead here there\u2019s no traffic, it moves continuously. We came from Guadalupe going here at Lawton, it took 45 minutes),\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n

MMDA General Manager Arturo \u201cJojo\u201d Garcia, meanwhile, said early studies project the passenger capacity of the PRFS to reach 40,000 per month, or 10,000 at the minimum, which would have at least a moderate impact on the volume of vehicles in the Metro\u2019s roads.<\/p>\n

\u201cYung<\/em>\u00a010,000,\u00a0ilang<\/em>\u00a0bus\u00a0yan<\/em>? 200 bus, 100 bus,\u00a0ilang<\/em>\u00a0jeep yan? So\u00a0kahit papaano makatutulong<\/em>. (That 10,000, how many buses would it take to carry that? 200 buses, 100, buses, how many jeeps? So, this would help at least a little),\u201d Garcia said.<\/p>\n

Senator Christopher Lawrence \u201cBong\u201d Go, in his keynote speech at the event, said the PRFS will be free starting Monday until the end of January next year to encourage commuters to use the alternative mass transport service.<\/p>\n

He also asked the MMDA to look into the possibility of providing the service for free for a longer period — or if possible, to subsidize the project in its entirety.<\/p>\n

Lim said the MMDA will exert efforts to bring this to reality, or to at least provide the ferry service at a discounted price.<\/p>\n

\u201cKung pwede lang sana libre na ito habang si<\/em>\u00a0President Duterte\u00a0ay nakaupo. Pero ginagawan natin ng paraan — kundi man libre, at least babaan natin yung [pamasahe]<\/em>\u00a0(If only it\u2019s possible to provide this for free while President Duterte is in office. But we are finding ways — if not free, at least a cheaper fare),\u201d Lim said.<\/p>\n

Manila Mayor Francisco \u201cIsko\u201d Moreno Domagoso hailed the PRFS as possibly one of the most efficient alternative ways of transport within Metro Manila and said that his office is in talks with the MMDA to find additional stations to supplement the service\u2019s current 11 stations.<\/p>\n

\u201cNapag-usapan namin ni<\/em>\u00a0Chairman Lim\u00a0kung pupwede yung<\/em>\u00a0Quinta Market,\u00a0daungan<\/em>.\u00a0Para lahat ng taga<\/em>-Pasig\u00a0na nagsisimba tuwing Biyernes, papunta sa<\/em>\u00a0Quiapo,\u00a0hindi na kailangan magdala ng kotse, motor<\/em>\u00a0(Chairman Lim and I discussed if it\u2019s possible to dock at the Quinta Market. This is for those who live in Pasig who goes to church on Fridays at Quiapo. They won\u2019t need to bring a car or a motorcycle anymore),\u201d Domagoso said.<\/p>\n

Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto, meanwhile, said he expects the improved service of the PRFS to have a big effect on commuters, especially since Pasig City is the \u201cgateway of the eastern Metro Manila corridor.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a bulletin, the MMDA said Lim ordered the refurbishment of all 11 ferry stations along the Pasig River and the sourcing of additional boats to further improve and increase the viability of the ferry service.<\/p>\n

Currently, the PRFS has seven boats in total — two boats with a capacity of 57 passengers, 3 boats with a capacity of 36, and 2 boats with a capacity of 16.<\/p>\n

Two of these have been loaned by the Pasig City government to the MMDA, with another two from the City government of Manila.<\/p>\n

The MMDA also installed closed-circuit television cameras in all stations for increased safety of passengers while PRFS personnel have also undergone a refresher course in first aid.<\/p>\n

The Department of Information and Communications Technology also provided free Wi-Fi in all ferry stations to increase the comfort of passengers.<\/p>\n

The MMDA said the ferry service runs from Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City to Escolta in Manila:<\/p>\n

Stations in Pasig City: Pinagbuhatan, San Joaquin, and Maybunga<\/p>\n

Stations in Makati City: Guadalupe and Valenzuela<\/p>\n

Station in Mandaluyong City: Hulo<\/p>\n

Stations in Manila City: Lambingan, Sta. Ana, PUP, Lawton, and Escolta.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

MANILA\u00a0— National and local government officials on Monday called on commuters to try the relaunched Pasig River Ferry Service (PRFS). …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":239590,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,95],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-239589","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-news","category-news-ph","mauthors-raymond-carl-dela-cruz","mauthors-philippine-news-agency"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239589","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=239589"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239589\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":239591,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/239589\/revisions\/239591"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/239590"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=239589"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=239589"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/canadianinquirer.net\/v1\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=239589"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}