Malacañang on Monday urged local government units (LGUs) to provide bike lanes for better mobility of their residents, as public transport remains restricted under quarantine rules.
“Sa panahon na limitado ang pampublikong sasakyan, marami po ang nagbibisekleta. Nananawagan po kami sa mga LGUs: Mag-provide po kayo ng mga bike lane,” Palace spokesman Harry Roque said during the Laging Handa briefing.
Sen. Francis Tolentino had called on the Department of Transportation to allow bikers to use major roads.
Biking groups, led by PhilCycling chairman Bert Lina, have also called on the government to open more bike lanes on major roads, citing the importance of bicycle transport in the “new normal.”
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority on May 24 opened bike lanes on EDSA in its dry run of the bike lane implementation.
Public transport remains limited even under more relaxed quarantine measures.
“Mayroon na po tayong umiiral na guideline na sa GCQ (general community quarantine), mula 10 to 50 percent na po ang pampublikong mga transportasyon. Kapag nagkaroon pa ng Modified GCQ, iyon nga po, 50% capacity so dadami na po ang pampublikong mga sasakyan,” Roque said. John Ezekiel J. Hirro
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