Philippine Transportation System.docx

MAPUA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY MURALLA ST. INTRAMUROS MANILA

SCHOOL OF CIVIL, ENVIRONMENTAL & GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING

HOMEWORK No. 1 Analysis of Philippine Transportation System

H216 - ORCILLA, Toby William C. CE123 / C2 October 26, 2013 Engr Dante B. Potante

I.

INTRODUCTION

The Philippines is located about 1,130 km. East of Indo-Chinese Peninsula and has a total land area of 299,000 sq. km. It is bounded on the east by the Pacific Ocean, on the south by the Celebes Sea, and on the west and north by the South China Sea. The Philippines is an archipelago consisting of about 7,107 islands and islets. It is divided into three major island groups, namely: Luzon on the north, the largest island with an area of 141,000 sq. km., where Manila, the capital of the Philippines is situated; Visayas at the center of the archipelago, with an area of 37,000 sq. km.; and Mindanao 2 at the south, with 102,000 sq. km. The islands stretch out for about 1,800 km., from north to south and for about 1,040 km., from east to west at the archipelago’s widest extent. The total length of the coastline is 34,600 km. Its strategic location offers easy access to the Asia Pacific Region. Transportation in the Philippines is relatively underdeveloped, partly due to the mountainous areas and scattered islands, this is also the result of the government's persistent underinvestment in the infrastructure of the country. The Philippine government is pushing to improve the transportation system in the country through various projects. Jeepneys are the most popular mode of public transportation in the Philippines, they also have become a ubiquitous symbol of the Philippine culture. Another popular mode of public transportation in the country are the Tricycles, they are a common means of passenger transport in the country especially on rural areas. Trains are also becoming a popular mode of public transportation in the country especially in the bustling metropolis of Manila. The Philippines has three main railway networks: the LRT and MRT which only serves Metro Manila and the Philippine National Railways which also serves the metropolis and some parts of Luzon. Taxis and buses are also other important modes of public transport in the Philippines. The Philippines has 12 international airports, and has more than 20 major and minor domestic airports serving the country. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport is the main international gateway to the Philippines.

II.

LAND TRANSPORTATION

The Philippines has 199,950 kilometers (124,240 mi) of roads, of which 39,590 kilometers (24,600 mi) are paved. As of 2004, the total length of the non-toll road network was reported to be 202,860 km, with the following breakdown according to type:    

National roads - 15% Provincial roads - 13% City and municipal roads - 12% Barangay roads - 60%

Road classification is based primarily on administrative responsibilities (with the exception of barangays), i.e., which level of government built and funded the roads. Most of the barangay roads are unpaved village-access roads built in the past by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), but responsibility for maintaining these roads have now been devolved to the Local Government Units (LGUs). Farm-to-market roads fall under this category, and a few are financed by the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Agriculture. However, despite having a large road network built over the country, large parts of the road network continue to be in poor condition and only 20 percent of the total road network is paved. Highways in the Philippines include roads that can be classified into six divisions: the Maharlika Highway, Controlled-access highways, the Regional Highways, the Provincial Highways, the Manila Arterial Road System, Pan-Philippine Highway and the secondary city and municipal avenues and roads. The Pan-Philippine Highway is a 3,517 km (2,185 mi) network of roads, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, serving as the Philippines' principal transport backbone. The northern terminus of the highway is at Laoag City, and the southern terminus is at Zamboanga City. The Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) is one of the most known highways of the Philippines, the highway serves the National Capital Region of the Philippines, it also serves as an important highway in the metropolis. The avenue passes through 6 of the 17 settlements in the region, namely, the cities of Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Makati and Pasay. EDSA is the longest highway in the metropolis and handles an average of 2.34 million vehicles. Commonwealth Avenue is also an important highway in the metropolis, it serves the Quezon City area and has a length of 12.4 km (7.7 mi). The Philippines has numerous expressways and most of them are located in the main island of the country, Luzon. The first expressway systems in the country are the North Luzon Expressway formerly known as North Diversion Road and the South Luzon Expressway, formerly known as South Super Highway. Both were built in 1970s, during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos. The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) is a 4 to 8-lane limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the Central Luzon region. The expressway begins in Quezon City at a cloverleaf interchange with EDSA. It then passes through various cities and municipalities in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. The expressway currently ends at Mabalacat and merges with the MacArthur Highway, which continues northward into the rest of Central and Northern Luzon. The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) is another important expressway in the country, it serves the southern part of Luzon. The expressway is a network of two expressways that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the CALABARZON region in the southern part of Luzon. It starts

at the Paco District of Manila then passes through Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parañaque, Taguig and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila; San Pedro, Biñan City, Carmona in Cavite, the transverses again to Biñan City, Santa Rosa City, Cabuyao City and Calamba City in the province of Laguna and ends in Santo Tomas, Batangas. The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is another expressway that serves the region of Central Luzon, the expressway is linked to the North Luzon Expressway through the Mabalacat Interchange. Its southern terminus is at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, it passes through the Clark Freeport Zone and its northern terminus is at Brgy. Amucao in Tarlac City, Tarlac. Construction on the expressway began in April 2005, and opened to the public three years later. The Strong Republic Nautical Highway links many of the islands' road networks through a series of roll-on/roll-off ferries, some rather small covering short distances and some larger vessels that might travel several hours or more.The Philippine government and other private sectors are building more plans and proposals to build new expressways through public–private partnership. Rail transportation in the Philippines is a growing means of transportation for passengers and cargo in the country. Train services are provided by the three main railway networks of the country: the Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT), the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT), and the Philippine National Railways (PNR), these train services only serves the Metro Manila area and some parts of Luzon. The Philippine National Railways is a state-owned railway system of the Philippines, it was established during the Spanish Colonial period of the country. PNR aims to link key cities within the Philippines efficiently and to serve as an instrument in national socio-economic development. It also aims to improve the rail transportation of the country. The PNR currently operates in the Manila metropolitan area and the provinces of Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur and Albay. Before PNR used to to serve the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and La Union in the north and Batangas on the South. The Manila Light Rail Transit System, popularly known as the LRT, is a rapid transit system serving the Metro Manila area, it is the first metro system in Southeast Asia. Quick and inexpensive to ride, the LRT serves 605,000 passengers each day. Its 31 stations along over 31 kilometers (19 mi) of mostly elevated track form two lines. The LRT network consists of two lines: the original LRT Line 1 (LRT-1) or Yellow Line, and the more modern MRT Line 2 (MRT-2), or Purple Line. Apart from the LRT, the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT) also serves Metro Manila. The MRT is located along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), one of Metro Manila's main thoroughfares. It has thirteen stations along its 16.95 km track which passes through the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasay and Quezon City. Some of the stations of the MRT have been retrofitted with escalators and elevators for easier access, and ridership has increased. By 2004 MRT-3 had the highest ridership of the three lines, with 400,000 passengers daily.

The UP Diliman AGT is an automated guide way transit (AGT) system currently under construction, it will be the first of its kind to be built in the Philippines. The AGT will be developed within the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. Road Transport The road network caters to about 4.3 million motor vehicles registered in the country (2003 data), including 1.6 million motorcycles and tricycles. It also supports the road transport industry comprising about 13,205 registered trucking companies, about 16,335 bus and mini-bus companies, and a large number of jeepney companies, cooperatives and owner operators owing a fleet of 257,574 vehicles. In the last five years, DOTC approved the operation of the new Filcab services, an energy efficient, environment friendly, 12 to 14 seater vehicles that give better income to operators and comfort to passengers. 3 As of December 2003, the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB) had issued franchises to various public land transport vehicles with 454,343 units serving the various routes in all the regions of the Philippines. Urban Rail System The Metro-Manila urban rail system is comprised of three LRT/MRT lines, notably Light Rail Transit (LRT) Line 1, LRT Line 2 and the Mass Rail Transit (MRT) Line 3 (commonly referred to as EDSA line). The Light Rail Transit System Line 1 (LRT 1) is a 15 km. elevated railway system servicing the Taft Avenue-Rizal Avenue route between Baclaran, Pasay City and the Bonifacio Monument in the City of Caloocan. It is considered to be the first LRT system in Southeast Asia. The Megatren, more popularly known by its generic name LRT Line 2, is a 13.8 km. mass transit line that traverses five cities in Metro Manila namely, Pasig City, Marikina, Quezon City, San Juan and Manila along the major thoroughfares of Marcos Highway, Aurora Blvd., Ramon Magsaysay Blvd, Legarda and Recto Avenue. The EDSA MRT Line 3 is a 17.8 km. mass transit line that runs on double track and partly elevated carriageway along Efipanio delos Santos Avenur (EDSA) from North Avenue in Quezon City to Taft Avenue in Pasay City. PNR System The Philippine National Railways (PNR) is undertaking the development of the long distance railway system. Over the years, PNR has constructed railway lines linking Metro Manila and the rest of Luzon islands, however, as of the moment, the only operational lines are the Main Line South (Manila-Legaspi – 480 km lines) and the Commuter Lines (Caloocan to Calamba with a length of 61.96 km and the branch line of San Pedro-Carmona with length of 4.7 km).

II.

WATER TRANSPORTATION

Waterways 3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels. River ferries The Pasig River Ferry Service is a river ferry service that serves Metro Manila, it is also the only water-based transportation that cruised the Pasig River. The entire ferry network had 17 stations operational and 2 lines. The first line was the Pasig River Line which stretched from Plaza Mexico in Intramuros, Manila to Nag-payong station in Pasig City. The second line was the Marikina River Line which served the Guadalupe station in Makati City up to Santa Elena station in Marikina City. Ferry Services Due to the country's scattered islands, ferry services became one of the most important means of transportation in the Philippines. As the islands of the Philippines are separated by different bodies of water, the sea plays an integral part in travel. A range of seafarers are available, from huge cargo ships to small ferry boats; take long trips that last for a day or two with regular ship lines or take shorter ones with ferries. There are numerous shipping companies in the Philippines and these companies provide routes to different cities in the country, especially on holidays. Notable shipping companies of the Philippines include 2GO Travel (the successor to Superferry and Negros Navigation) and TransAsia Shipping Lines. Ports and harbors The main gateway to the Philippines through the sea is through the Manila International Cargo Terminal and the Eva Macapagal Port Terminal, both in the pier area of Manila. Other cities with bustling ports and piers include Bacolod, Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Butuan, Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legazpi, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic, Zamboanga, Cotabato, Allen, Ormoc, Ozamiz, Surigao and Tagbilaran. Most of these terminals comprise the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, a nautical system conceptualized under the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo where land vehicles can use the roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ship service to traverse the different islands of the country at minimal costs. Port System

The Philippines has over 2,456 ports, but many of them are extremely small and catering mainly to local fishing and passenger movements. There are 423 private ports, mostly belonging to private port enterprises for their own exclusive use. These ports handle 65% in tons of all cargo traffic, which consists largely of minerals, petroleum, cement and bulk agricultural produce. There are 421 fishing ports, most of which are under the administration of the Philippine Fisheries Development Authority. The Philippine Ports Authority (PPA) operates 114 public ports, which consists of 21 base ports and 93 secondary ports or terminal ports. In addition, there are other government authorities involved in port operations, namely: the Cebu Port Authority, which operates Cebu Port and several small nearby ports on Cebu Islands:, Subic Bay Metropolitan Authority, which operates Subic Bay Port; the Bases Conversion Development Authority (BCDA), which has jurisdiction over San Fernando Port; the Phividec Industrial Authority, which operate the newly completed Mindanao Container Terminal Port in Misamis Oriental; and the Cagayan Economic Zone Authority (CEZA) which is designated to operate the Port of Irene Freeport. The ARMM Regional Government has assumed supervision of three base ports, 79 terminal ports and 70 local ports within their area of responsibility. Major ports are typically located in key urban centers across the country. The remaining ports are very small and serve mainly as feeder ports. Investment in feeder ports is the direct responsibility of the DOTC, while some ports are owned and/or operated by municipalities. However, all these ports remain under the jurisdiction of the PPA pursuant to its all-encompassing charter except those explicitly devolved to other agencies by law. On the other hand, some private ports, mostly specialized facilities for private business use, are operational and may have authority from PPA to accept other cargo traffic. These include Banago Port in Bacolod, Bauan International Port and PNOC in Batangas and Tefasco Port, in Davao, which handle cargo for the public. Shipping Services Both international and domestic shipping companies serve the Philippine Shipping industry. International vessels are either owned by foreign firms such as American President Lines, Maersk, Sea Land, among others, or Philippine-owned and registered shipping companies for overseas market such as Eastern Shipping and Loadstar International. International Carriers transport goods primarily through the port of Manila (Manila International Container Terminal and South Harbor), but also call on the other major ports directly. However, the bulks of cargoes are discharged in Manila and transshipped to out-port using domestic vessels, or shipped through Manila for export with origins out-ports. As of 2000, there were 4,931 merchant vessels providing domestic shipping services. There is a predominance of general cargo, about 29% of the total fleet, which indicate the extent of goods being transported as loose or break-bulk mode in the country’s domestic trade. Compared to

earlier years, container vessels are gradually increasing, with a similar notable trend for tanker vessels. There is likewise significant build up passenger-cargo vessels from 1,223 vessels in 1998 to 2,297 in the year 2000, which resulted in the relatively younger average age for this category. Once noted for its shipping fleet having ages ranging from 20-30 years, the Philippines has now relatively newer vessels with average age of about 12.2 years as of 2000. The liberalization of the shipping services started in 1994 and the series of incentives and financing packages of the government paved the way for the rush in vessel acquisition by shipping lines, albeit second-hand ships. Due to the high capital costs of new vessels, inter-island ship owners opted to procure second-hand vessels, mainly from Japan (99%) and the rest from China and South Korea. Fast Craft and RORO Ferry Vessels One major change in recent years has been the introduction of fast ferry vessels in the domestic shipping services, commonly known as “fast-crafts”, that are particularly popular in the Visayas, including short routes to/from the main island of Luzon and Mindanao. These sea crafts have significantly reduced travel times and more recently interfacing with air services, particularly through the Mactan-Cebu International Airport (MCIA). Another recent development has been the promotion of Strong Republic Nautical Highway (SRNH), wherein DOTC was tasked to connect the country through the development of transportation networks through the Roll-on, Roll-off (RORO) services. RO-RO is an inter-modal transport services using land-cum-sea connections. Initially started with the Ferry Terminals and Ferry Boats Program, lingking Sorsogon in Masbate and Northern Samar as well as Southern Leyte and Surigao as part of the Maharlika Highway.

III.

AIR TRANSPORTATION

Airports Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Clark, Subic, and Laoag are the international gateways to the country, with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila as the main and premier gateway of the country. The Ninoy Aquino International Airport serves as the premier gateway of the Philippines, it serves the Metro Manila area and its surrounding regions. It is located in the boundary of Parañaque and Pasay in the National Capital Region. In 2012, NAIA became the 34th busiest airport in the world, passenger volume increased to about eight percent to a total of 32.1 million passengers, making it one of the busiest airports in Asia.[13] The Clark International Airport is also a major gateway to the country, it will be the future international gateway for the metropolitan area and it is planned to replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.[14] The airport mostly serves

low-cost carriers that avail themselves of the lower landing fees than those charged at NAIA. Other important airports in the Philippines is the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu; the Iloilo International Airport in Iloilo; the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao; and the Zamboanga International Airport in Zamboanga City. Airlines The Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the national flag carrier of the Philippines, it is the first commercial airline in Asia. The Philippine Airlines remains as the country’s biggest airline company, it has the largest number of international flights to the Philippines as well as domestic flights. The Philippine Airlines links Manila to 14 cities in 8 countries, and flies regularly to 41 domestic destinations outside Manila. The Philippine Airlines also serves twenty destinations in the Philippines and 32 destinations which are all located in Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Oceania and North America. The Cebu Pacific Air is the low fare leader in the country, it is the country's leading domestic airline. It links Manila to 21 different domestic destinations in Philippines and to 12 international destinations with its direct flights. After offering low fares to domestic destinations, Cebu Pacific launched its international operations on November 2001 and now flies to Bangkok, Busan, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei. The airline currently operates hubs in Manila, Cebu and Davao. Other low-cost airlines in the country includes Air Philippines, South East Asian Airlines, Laoag International Airlines, Zest Air, and Pacificair, these airlines have routes to several tourist destinations in the country at low prices. Airport System The Philippines has a total of 87 national airports, which are classified as international trunkline, secondary and feeder airports. There are eight international airports designated as major gateway to the country. The primary international airports are Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Mactan-Cebu International Airport, Davao International Airport, Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (formerly Clark International Airport) and Subic International Airport while Laoag, General Santos and Zamboanga Airports serve as alternate international airports, handling limited international scheduled and chartered air services. On the other hand, there are twelve trunkline airports serve by jet aircraft. The rest of the domestic airports are classified either as secondary or feeder airports serviced by mainly turbo-propeller type aircraft.

Domestic Air Transport Services Currently, three domestic air carriers dominate air transport services in the country. These are the Philippine Airlines, Cebu Pacific Airways and Air Philippines. The Philippine Airlines (PAL) was the only carrier allowed to operate in Philippine airports until 1986, when the air transport policy on airline liberalization was adopted leading to the demonopolization of PAL. As one of the Philippine flag carrier, Philippine Airlines dominates the domestic air passenger market with more than 50% share. The other Philippine flag carrier, Cebu Pacific Air, was launched after the government deregulated the aviation sector in 1994, and continues to challenge PAL on domestic routes with 38% market share. Air Philippines Corporation started operations in 1996 and it began its modernization program in 2003 to improve operating efficiency with newer aircrafts such as the arrival of two 118seat Boeing 737-200 aircraft. Recently, three general aviation companies started schedule flights to tourist destinations and secondary airports, namely: South-East Asian Airlines (SEAIR), Asian Spirit and Pacific East Asia Cargo (PEAC).

REFERENCES:  http://www.internations.org/philippines-expats/guide/moving-to-the-philippines15355/transportation-in-the-philippines-3  http://en.wikipilipinas.org/index.php?title=Transportation_history_of_the_Philippines  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transportation_in_the_Philippines  http://www.urbanrail.net/as/mani/manila.htm  http://www.tradechakra.com/economy/philippines/roadways-in-philippines-262.php  http://asianinfo.org/asianinfo/philippines/pro-transportation.htm