MANILA, Philippines - The much-awaited Pasig River ferry service will begin operations on April 28, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) chairman Francis Tolentino said Wednesday.
Tolentino said there are now seven private ferry operators that are interested in the Pasig River service. However, Tolentino said only four firms will be selected by the Metropolitan Manila Council (MMC) which is composed of the mayors of Metro Manila and is the policy-making arm of the MMDA.
Tolentino told reporters that the MMC which met at the San Juan City Hall, approved the proposed Pasig River ferry service which was being pushed by the MMDA as an alternate transport system in the face of monstrous traffic jams expected to be generated by the construction of major infrastructure and other road projects across Metro Manila.
Tolentino added that the responsibility of repairing and maintaining the passenger stations or terminals to be used by the ferries falls on the concerned local government units (LGUs).
"Nagpapasalamat ako dahil full support sila (Metro mayors) at darating tayo sa yugto na sila (LGUs) ang magaayos ng terminals dahil na sa kanila yung jurisdiction," he said.
According to Tolentino, the rehabilitation of the passenger stations along the Pasig River built by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC) and which were previously used by a defunct ferry operator is now underway.
Tolentino said the rehabilitation of the stations is mostly funded by donations from the private sector. He said the MMDA is looking to revive a minimum of six stations and a maximum of 12 by next week.
According to the MMDA the ferries start operating at 5:30 a.m. and end service at 7:30 p.m. Tolentino said the fare for the ferries has yet to be set by a tripartite committee composed of the MMDA, the PPRC and the Department of Transportation and Communications (DOTC) which has control over the Maritime Industry Authority (Marina).
Tolentino said the MMDA is eyeing the activation of five passenger terminals on Aril 28.
Earlier, the MMDA announced that a private ferry service will be operating on the Pasig River by the last week of April.
Tolentino also earlier said he expects at least eight ferries owned by private firms to be operating on the river per day.
Tolentino said the ferries will be using an initial five terminals out of the original 11 stations put-up by the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission (PRRC).
The five terminals are at Guadalupe in Makati City; Sta. Ana in Sta. Ana, Manila; Polytechnic University of the Philippines (PUP) in Sta. Mesa, Manila, Plaza Mexico in Intramuros, Manila, Escolta in Manila and Pinagbuhatan in Pasig City.
Tolentino said a tripartite committee composed of the MMDA, the PPRC and the Department of Transportation and Communication (DOTC) will be in charge of repairing the terminals and in fixing the fare for the ferries.
According to Tolentino, at least five private firms have taken interest in operating the ferry service, including the Nautical Transport Service Inc. (NTSI) which held the franchise to operate a ferry service from C6 in Pinagbuhatan, Pasig to Intramuros in Manila.
The NTSI charged passengers P70 for an end-to-end trip. However, NTSI's ferry service stopped in 2011 after typhoon “Ondoy†damaged most of the terminals.
The MMDA had also earlier tested a prototype of its "bus ferry" on the Pasig River. The bus ferry is actually an MMDA tugboat which is fitted with the body of a minibus on top where passengers will be seated. The MMDA plans to field three of its "bus ferries" to complement the services of private ferry firms.
Tolentino earlier said the agency's ferry service aims to revive the Pasig River ferry system as an alternative solution to Metro Manila’s expected massive traffic jams caused by 15 major infrastructure projects across the Metro.
For its ferry system, the MMDA converted its three tugboats into "bus-ferries" by attaching the bodies of mini-buses on top of the 20-foot tugboat. The boats will use the terminals earlier used by the earlier defunct ferry service along the Pasig River.
The yellow-colored MMDA boats can ferry at least 40 passengers from the Guadalupe ferry terminal in Makati City to the ferry station in Escolta, Manila.