Transport authorities in the Philippines say they will include bicycles and motorcycles as part of the country’s public transport system once Covid-19 lockdowns are lifted on May 15.
These modes of transport enable people to get around easily and better observe social distancing rules, a senior transport official said on May 6.
“Bicycles and motorbikes will play an important role because our train system cannot handle all commuters due to social distancing rules. It is also safer to ride on bikes or motorcycles because people will naturally be distant from each other,” Assistant Transport Secretary Steve Pastor said.
City officials are preparing special bike lanes and stations along national highways for public safety, he said. Provinces outside Manila are already encouraging people to ride bikes to work.
Transport authorities said the two-wheel transport scheme seeks to head off a pending mass transit crisis in Manila when at least 110,000 people are allowed to return to work but must also abide by strict social distancing rules.
The transport department has warned commuters they could have to wait 2-3 hours before boarding a train due to thermal scanning and physical distancing rules.
“We only have three rail systems in Manila. Even without Covid, train services cannot serve commuters adequately … With all these social distancing rules, it is better to ride a motorbike to work,” said Danilo Verzosa, a daily commuter.
Meanwhile, Manila Archdiocese has released guidelines for religious services in all Manila churches.
One rule will be to have specific entry and exit points so that “people entering do not bump into people exiting.” All entrances and exits should also have footbath containers [with chlorine] and hand sanitizers.
There will also be a “sanitization ministry” whose job is to keep the church and altar vessels clean and virus free.
The archdiocese said the guidelines are necessary if services are to take place during this “extraordinary situation.”
As of May 6, the Philippines had recorded 10,004 Covid-19 cases with 658 deaths, according to government figures.
Support UCA News…
As 2020 unfolds, we are asking readers like you to help us keep Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News) free so it can be accessed from anywhere in the world at no cost.
That has been our policy for years and was made possible by donations from European Catholic funding agencies. However, like the Church in Europe, these agencies are in decline and the immediate and urgent claims on their funds for humanitarian emergencies in Africa and parts of Asia mean there is much less to distribute than there was even a decade ago.
Forty years ago, when UCA News was founded, Asia was a very different place – many poor and underdeveloped countries with large populations to feed, political instability and economies too often poised on the edge of collapse. Today, Asia is the economic engine room of the world and funding agencies quite rightly look to UCA News to do more to fund itself.
UCA News has a unique product developed from a view of the world and the Church through informed Catholic eyes. Our journalistic standards are as high as any in the quality press; our focus is particularly on a fast-growing part of the world – Asia – where, in some countries the Church is growing faster than pastoral resources can respond to – South Korea, Vietnam and India to name just three.
And UCA News has the advantage of having in its ranks local reporters that cover 22 countries and experienced native English-speaking editors to render stories that are informative, informed and perceptive.
We report from the ground where other news services simply can’t or won’t go. We report the stories of local people and their experiences in a way that Western news outlets simply don’t have the resources to reach. And we report on the emerging life of new Churches in old lands where being a Catholic can at times be very dangerous.
With dwindling support from funding partners in Europe and the USA, we need to call on the support of those who benefit from our work.