Gov’t, private sector need to discuss sharing bike lane to motorcycles - operator

Metro Manila, Philippines - The looming rehabilitation of Epifanio delos Santos Ave. (EDSA) may merit discussions on allowing some motorcycles on the exclusive bike lane, a ride-hailing operator said on Tuesday, March 18.

In a news forum in Quezon City, Angkas President George Royeca said the government may consider opening portions of the bike lane to motorcycles for livelihood.

“Obviously there are less bikes on the road and if you look at motorcycles, the use of motorcycles in EDSA is really a lot kasi mga delivery pati motorcycle taxis pababalik balik na sa EDSA...mataas talaga ang frequency use ng motorsiklo sa EDSA,” he said.

[Translation: Obviously, there are fewer bikes on the road, and if you look at motorcycles, more of them are on EDSA especially the deliveries and motorcycle taxis.]

Royeca, however, said motorcycles should not fully occupy the bike lane.

He said some portions of the dedicated lane“could be useful strategically” for motorcycles.

“There are some parts there that more bicycles use so you can cut that up. Hindi naman iyan pangkalahatan [That’s not for all. But this needs representation from all sides including the bicycles…that some bicycles need to continue using that lane, you shouldn’t deprive them of that. But also there are a lot of portions of EDSA that remain largely unused,” he said.

In Feb., 23 civil society organizations, led by the “Move As One Coalition,” reiterated their opposition to designate bicycle lanes as a shared space with motorcycle riders

“There is no road safety guidance that suggests that bicycles and motorcycles should mix in the same road space,” they said.

The EDSA bike lane was launched at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Transportation Secretary Vince Dizon earlier said the government will announce final plans for the EDSA rehabilitation this week.