Gov’t urged to revive Pasig ferry service

By: TJ Burgonio - 11 years ago

The Pasig River ferry service in 2007. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines—Senate President Pro Tempore Ralph Recto is pressing the government to revive a ferry service on the Pasig River to decongest Metro Manila as two major road projects get under way.

Relaunching the boats to ferry thousands of commuters on the 27-kilometer waterway could be a good solution to the impending “carmageddon” in the capital, the senator said on Monday.

Recto said the government should not wait for the private sector and tap into the P1-billion contingent fund and the P140-billion unprogrammed fund in the 2014 budget to reactivate the ferry service.

He said the government could buy or rent the boats from the previous operator.

“We should now utilize this nautical road. It’s toll-free and ready to use,” he said of the Pasig River. “Any monstrous traffic which inconveniences millions fits the definition of an emergency. If you’ll steam inside your car which moves in mere meters in hours, then in any book, that is a calamity.”

Roadwork on the six-lane expressway connecting South Luzon Expressway from Buendia in Makati to North Luzon Expressway in Balintawak in Quezon City was scheduled to begin Monday night.

This was on top of the project connecting the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Expressway Phase 2 to the seaside Entertainment City.

Both projects are expected to cause traffic jams in the metropolis.

Recto said that if the government could subsidize commuters of the Metro Rail Transit and Light Railway Transit systems at P40 per trip, there was no reason it could not subsidize ferry commuters at a lower amount.

“It must be viewed as a public service in response to an emergency, which in this case is the traffic gridlock,” he said.

“Billions of pesos will be lost due to the projected traffic. So whatever amount that will be invested by the government in the ferry, the people will reap economic benefits even if the actual operating cost is not recouped from fare box collections,” he added.

Before it shut down in 2011, the ferry service transported commuters to 17 stations along a 15-km route from Plaza Mexico in Intramuros, Manila, to Nagpayong in Pasig City, Recto said.

The last operator deployed twin-hulled boats that could seat 150 passengers in air-conditioned cabins, he said.

It was discontinued due to the dwindling number of passengers, and navigational hazards such as the proliferation of water lilies and the foul smell emanating from the polluted river.

“It’s better to invest in the Pasig River ferry because it’s not as complicated as the MRT,” he said, referring to the transportation department’s award of a contract to a Chinese firm for the expansion of MRT 3 that has run into legal challenges.