Bike commuting 101

ON April 30, bicyclists around

Metro Manila cheered when the Department of Transportation

( DoTr) announced that as part of its measures to mitigate coronavirus transmission by decongesting buses and trains, it would roll out bike lanes throughout the country. To the uninitiated, it may seem like pure madness; but for those familiar with using a bike to get from place to place, a successful bike lane program will be just what this country needs.

When the lockdown was starting, a group of friends and I helped start manufacturing and providing personal protective equipment to hospitals and food to sitios as our volunteer effort. We had limited trucks and when there was something that the use of a truck was overkill for, I used my bicycle to deliver. Because of the light traffic on the side roads, I could get from place to place rather easily. I set no speed records, but I was getting around Manila a lot faster than in a car.

Here are some of the actual times and some extrapolated times: Alabang, Muntinlupa City to Makati City, 50 to 60 minutes; Bacoor, Cavite to Makati, 60 to 70 minutes; Makati to Quezon City, 40 to 50 minutes; Makati to Bonifacio Global City (BGC) in Taguig, 10 to 15 minutes; and BGC to Ortigas, 15 to 20 minutes.

When the cars are back on the road, will this even be possible? A few years ago, they hung Japan surplus bikes beside EDSA bus stations with “take one” signs to get the bewildered commuter to the next train station. I don’t know if they realized that there were giant electrical posts blocking the sidewalk or that buses were creating a smoke cloud that was suicidal to ride through.

I hope the DoTr actually hires a cyclist or a team of cyclists to ride these prospective bike lanes. I hope they start where people live and where people work. I hope they dedicate side roads and not use EDSA, and where needed, turn these roads one way and protect the lanes with bollards or planters. The coming and going sides of the bike lanes will not even need to be on the same street. I also hope they realize that since you know which ride is typically outbound in the morning and inbound at night, they try to avoid the roads blasted by the sun at that time. You can also create shade as they do in China by transplanting full grown trees to shade the bike paths.

If we made possible a decent commute by bike, you would see a noticeable improvement in people’s lives. It would add an extra hundred pesos to their daily incomes and give them one to two hours more time in their days to be with their families.

One of the key objections to this will be about people getting to work hot and sweaty. There are no catch-all solutions for everyone, but a lot of people would not sweat by arriving at work between 7:30 a.m. and 8 a.m., before the sun is really hot. Most people actually just bring a fresh shirt in a bag — once you have been biking a few weeks you don’t sweat that much in a commute.

An office worker like me could probably drive his car to the office Monday morning with all the clothes he needs for the week, leave it there for any trips that need it and drive it home on Friday. For my co-workers, yes, I would at least wash my face and use a cold washcloth so I don’t stink in the office.

I wish the Transportation department succeeds spectacularly at this. It would be a win for everyone.