Passenger-centric public transportation
Imagine a country where getting from one end of the archipelago to the other is as easy as a breeze off the ocean. Picture this: With a mere tap of your Beep card, you're whisked away on a seamless voyage, whether it's to the heart of a bustling metropolis or to the serene shores of a distant island. No more fretting over schedules or missing connections—our integrated public transportation system ensures you're always on track, every step of the way.
But wait, there's more! Need to zip around town? Simply hop on a rented bike or e-scooter, embracing the freedom to explore at your own pace. And with real-time transit data at your fingertips, courtesy of an intuitive app, you'll never be left stranded again. Whether you're a seasoned commuter or a first-time traveler, we've got you covered.
Safety? Check. With state-of-the-art monitoring systems and platform barriers, your well-being is our top priority. And let's not forget about the environment—by choosing public transportation, you're not just saving time and money, you're also doing your part for a greener, more sustainable future.
So why wait? Embrace the future today and embark on a journey filled with convenience, safety, and endless possibilities.
Introducing The Future of Travel: The Archipelago Express
Gliding effortlessly across the azure waters, our state-of-the-art floating train links the three major islands of Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, uniting the heart and soul of the Philippines like never before. Swift, sustainable, and spectacular, this marvel of engineering promises to revolutionize inter-island travel, offering a scenic and efficient journey for all. The future is here—let's ride the waves of progress together!
New to Metro Manila? If you want to save money, you can rely on public transportation to get you around, just like in other countries. Simply open Google Maps and enter where you need to go. The app should then give you a list of possible routes you can take (involving buses, jeepneys, tricycles, etc.) and their real-timeschedules. So if the vehicle you were planning to take is running late, you can adjust easily.
As Bea navigates her daily commute from Las Piñas to Makati, her AI companion "Buddy" provides a reassuring presence by her side. With real-time traffic updates and personalized route suggestions, Buddy ensures Bea's journey is as smooth as possible, alleviating her worries about getting lost or being late to work. As they travel together, Buddy also engages Maria in lively conversation, sharing jokes and stories to brighten her commute. With Buddy's companionship, Maria feels safer and more connected, turning her solitary commute into a journey filled with warmth.
Selected Quotes
"I've heard about sexual harassment on the trains here in Manila, like I know like some people who were harassed...I hope that...there will be technology that would prevent that from happening, or that would monitor these incidents more so that...women would feel a lot safer in these spaces."
"...[The Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT)] here [is] also scary, because it's so high up like...if you see the station, they don't have any gates...like you could literally just jump on the track or be pushed. And I feel like that's another problem with a lot of subways around the world. That's why there were so many problems in the US...[specifically] in New York about that. And Japan is also the same way. But Hong Kong and like Singapore, they have the gates that prevent violence from happening."
I think that even if there's a little bit of traffic, it's easier to get to my friends who live in Las Piñas and the South as a North girly. It'll be fairly easier to get to them because we have a good public transport system...Since it's not hard to get to Filipinos who live on the other side of the city or things like that, we spend less time online and [more time] with people we know because… hot take, I think a lot of my Filipinos are so miserable. It's because we're so online all the time. We are also online all the time because we're so miserable. Our living conditions are just so bad. It's a codependent relationship. In an almost perfect world, we'd be able to get to our friends easier, like in Singapore where their transport system is just so easy and so stress free that you can just keep running errands.
Transportation is more of a hardware like initiative rather than a software initiative but I guess…there are digital systems din naman that sort of play a part in public transport like payment systems, or...routing and everything. Optimistically, I think we'd like transportation to be faster, and more efficient, and less costly, and...even free. So I think in an optimistic...tech future, transportation, or particularly public transportation, would be more accessible. So I think tech can play a part in making it more accessible and easy to use.
First and foremost, the problem with the Philippines is they incentivize buying cars too much. They incentivize people to not take public transport because it's so bad. So that's one thing. If we complain about traffic, the government builds all of these roads when...the answer to solving traffic is so simple. You don't need a skyway, you don't need...more bridge[s] or whatever. Did you know that traffic still occurs on the skyway? Because the problem isn't that there aren't enough roads; the problem is there are too much cars, and people just keep buying cars. So really, the answer is so simple. Just incentivize people [to commute]; make public transport good enough to incentivize people to actually use them, because right now, nobody wants to use them because they're so bad. That's really the main solution.
The Philippines is...not only...bigger than Singapore, we also have [scattered] islands. Singapore is one island; it's so easy to just plan everything out...[Meanwhile], Luzon Visayas, [and] Mindanao: these are all different sections. And across Luzon, Visayas, [and] Mindanao...there are islands too. So it might not be the same. I guess one way to start is look at the country that has efficient transportation, and has the same structure as the Philippines...[which is an] archipelago...Are there countries that are archipelagos and have good transportation systems? If so, maybe we can model [our own future transportation system] off of that.
Singapore [is] the best [example]. The MRT...their train lines are designed to move the load of the passengers, so that there's no heavy traffic in one line. They designed it in a way [that it is distributed] to other lines...But in the Philippines, if we can get a nice transport system like that, hopefully we can also have some tracking apps, because Google Maps is pretty shit with tracking. I wish it could track [PUVs], buses, and train stations, so that when I want to go to, let's say Ayala Alabang, I know where to go at what time: "When will this PUV pass here?" and so on.
...[C]entralizing payment, such as something like a Beep card, and put it in every Public Utility Vehicle, even if it's just a tricycle; we could integrate [the] Beep card so that it wouldn't be hassle [to pay]. That Beep card can be replaced with credit card too, like in Singapore, you can replace the Beep card just by tapping the credit card. And then since you can use a credit card, you can use your Apple Watch, like using wearable technologies for payments, because you're able to link credit cards. So the Philippines is super behind there...we aren't able to use wearable tech to do any financial transaction; even buying rubber shoes or fruits would be super convenient if you could just do that.
Hopefully by 2040, public transport here is amazing...[A]s much as flying cars are cool, I'd rather have really good public transport...[W]hen I was in Europe, I was amazed with the public transport; people barely had cars, everything was walkable, and that's kind of how I want it here because it's more fair. Like let's face it; there's like a divide between the rich and the poor here, right? But at least fixing [transportation] equalizes things for a lot of people. And I see tech playing a role in there because, well, look at the tech developments in transport in other countries, [like] Japan's bullet train...So I [can] imagine just using public transport to get from Luzon to Visayas, or Visayas to Mindanao...portals would be cool, but I don't think that's realistic...I really just want a more [human-centrered transport system]...[Even if] I'm a driver...[who] love[s] driving...I also acknowledge that things would be way better if public transport and basically everything is walkable here.
...[In an optimistic] world...EDSA won't turn into a hellhole whenever it's a Friday night rush hour...30 passengers [won't have to wait]...for a jeep [and try]...to squeeze [in], and...traffic [will no longer be] very heavy, given that everyone's [freed from] driving their cars.
...[W]e can go [anywhere and everywehre] with the train, with the MRT, with the bus...There are rental bikes and rental e-scooters around...[basically,] everything is [now] accessible in the Philippines...[For example,] you can get from...Batanes to [General Santos City] in a reasonable amount of time...[Here], you will be able to get from place to place, and you wouldn't have to worry about whether or not you will be able to move there. Do you have a lot of bags? That'll be considered, because there is already a luggage area or...way to manage the luggage for you. And everything is connected in one system...not B Plus, Triple O, or whatever [other companies] these people think of just because they don't want to talk to each other...And [this sytem] is secure as well...maybe it could be connected to our national ID, because technically we have that PhilSys Number (PSN) thing. So yeah, the integration of the government with...technology that they will actually...fix.
...[O]f course, the dream is decongestion and less car-centrism. So [that means] public transport, [and] more bike-friendly [infrastructure]. In terms of technology, it's hard to say how that would like be facilitated but ideally, of course, technology [would help by] facilitating more remote jobs...more asynchronous modes...so like...technology [is] offering jobs also to decongest the cities, maybe?
...[I]f you could just have one thing for everything transport-related, but also for transportation itself to be a lot better, I feel like it would have solved a lot of problems that we have in the Philippines right now. [This is] especially when comes [to] traffic and congestion, but also things like [the] accessibility of jobs, and everything like that. There's so many things that could have been solved or alleviated if transportation was just so much better. So optimistically, technology [would] make our transport life a lot better and [would] unlock more opportunities for people like in general.
