MM urged to expand bike-sharing program

MANILA, Philippines - Congested areas such as Metro Manila should expand the bike sharing system to address traffic problems and reduce carbon dioxide emissions at the same time, officials of the World Future Council (WFC) said yesterday.

“To solve urban traffic, we need to consider the renaissance of bicycles. Bikes are good transportation alternative,” Stefan Schurig, director of the WFC’s Climate and Energy division, told visiting Filipino journalists in Hamburg, Germany.

 “You don’t need (financial) aids or innovative ideas to do this,” he added.

He said there is also a need to encourage a mindset of walking and cycling among the citizens.

Schurig said it is also important that the government intensify security in urban areas so to attract more people to use bicycles.

“We should improve the safety levels in these cities so the people using bicycles will not be exposed to criminals,” he said.

Founded in Hamburg in 2007, the WFC provides recommendations to policymakers in the area of renewable energy, climate change, food security, promoting the rights of women and children, among others.

The Council consists of 50 eminent global change-makers from governments, parliaments, civil society, academia, the arts and business.

One of its members is Ana Oposa, daughter of environmentalist and 2009 Ramon Magsaysay laureate Antonio Oposa.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority last year relaunched its bike-sharing program, with 40 new bikes set aside for interested pedestrians and commuters.

These bikes can be borrowed and used as alternative transport during heavy traffic.

Designated bike lanes are in the Ortigas Area to White Plains, Temple Drive and Santolan near Camp Aguinaldo; Rajah Solayman in Kalaw, at the corner of Museong Pambata going to Quirino Grandstand in Manila; and Ayala going to Magallanes.

The bike-sharing scheme was first launched by the MMDA in January 2013 when it opened a one-kilometer bike lane on the northbound lane of EDSA-Magallanes to Ayala Avenue in Makati.

In the Philippines, the transport sector accounts for 36.1 percent of the total carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion, according to reports.

Germany is heralded as one of Europe’s prime examples for promoting public transport.