On Dec. 9, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) revived the Pasig River Ferry Service, a commuter ferry service that travels along the Pasig River, taking passengers to and from Pasig and Escolta.
The service has been launched and eventually closed down multiple times within the past three decades.
This time, the service is being brought back as an alternative means of transport to deal with the worsening traffic situation—which increases tenfold during the holidays. “With the anticipated heavy traffic as the holiday season approaches, there is no better time than now to see how Pasig River can help ease our traffic congestion problem,” MMDA chairman Danny Lim stated at the relaunch.
Currently, the service’s stations are located in Pinagbuhatan, San Joaquin, and Maybunga in Pasig; Guadalupe and Valenzuela in Makati; Hulo in Mandaluyong; and Lambingan, Sta. Ana, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Lawton, and Escolta in Manila. Three additional ferry stations will be constructed at Quinta Market in Manila, Circuit in Makati, and Kalawaan in Pasig City within the next three months “to allow for a bigger service area,” Lim added.
MMDA general manager Jojo Garcia also noted that the duration of the rides from Pasig to Manila will take less than an hour.
“The MMDA has yet to determine the fare matrix for the ferry service,” reports Inquirer.net, but it is offering free rides from Dec. 9 to Jan. 31 next year. “We are working on how to source more funds and resources for this project. If we can’t offer this service for free, then we can at least offer lower fare rates,” Lim said.
The day before the relaunch, the Department of Transportation (DOTr) also announced a new line of “water jeepneys” running from Cavite to Manila. (READ: Cavite-Manila to only take 15-40 mins with new “water jeepneys” and it’s free till Jan 2020)
Featured photo courtesy of Inquirer.net
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Writer: ZOFIYA ACOSTA
