Philippines: Philippines Transportation Profile

Transportation in the Philippines is relatively underdeveloped, half due to the country's mountainous areas and scattered islands, and half as a result of the government's persistent underinvestment in the country's infrastructure. In recent years, however, the Philippine government has been pushing to improve the transportation system in the country through various projects.

Jeepneys are the majority popular mode of public transportation in the Philippines, they have as well become a ubiquitous symbol of the Philippine culture.

An extra popular mode of public transportation in the country is the motorized tricycle; they are particularly common in rural areas.[3] Trains are as well becoming a popular mode of public transportation in the country particularly in the bustling metropolis of Manila. The Philippines has three major railway networks: the Manila Light Rail Transit System composed of the LRT-1 and LRT-2 and Manila Metro Rail Transit System composed of the MRT-3 which only serves Metro Manila and the Philippine National Railways which as well serves the metropolis and some parts of Luzon. Taxis and buses are as well significant modes of public transport in urban areas.

The Philippines has 12 international airports, and has additional than 20 major and minor domestic airports serving the country.[4] The Ninoy Aquino International Airport is the major international gateway to the Philippines.

Land transportation

The Philippines has 199,950 kilometers (124,240 mi) of roads, of which 39,590 kilometers (24,600 mi) are paved. As of 2004, the total length of the non-toll road network was reported to be 202,860 km, with the following breakdown according to type:

National roads - 15%
Provincial roads - 13%
City and municipal roads - 12%
Barangay roads - 60%

In 1940, there were 22,970 kilometres (14,270 mi) of road in all country, half of which was in central and southern Luzon.[5] The roads served 50,000 vehicles.[5]

Road classification is based primarily on administrative responsibilities (with the exception of barangays), i.e., which level of government built and funded the roads. Most of the barangay roads are unpaved village-access roads built in the completed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), but responsibility for maintaining these roads have presently been devolved to the Local Government Units (LGUs). Farm-to-market roads fall under this category, and a few are financed by the Department of Agrarian Reform and the Department of Agriculture. However, despite having a large road network built over the country, large parts of the road network continue to be in poor condition and only 20 % of the total road network is paved.

Highways

Highways in the Philippines include roads that can be classified into six divisions: the Maharlika Highway, Controlled-access highways, the Regional Highways, the Provincial Highways, the Manila Arterial Road System, Pan-Philippine Highway and the secondary city and municipal avenues and roads.

The Pan-Philippine Highway is a 3,517 km (2,185 mi) network of roads, bridges, and ferry services that connect the islands of Luzon, Samar, Leyte, and Mindanao, serving as the Philippines' principal transport backbone. The northern terminus of the highway is at Laoag City, and the southern terminus is at Zamboanga City.

The Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA) is one of the majority known highways of the Philippines, the highway serves the National Capital Region of the Philippines, it as well serves as an significant highway in the metropolis. The avenue passes through 6 of the 17 settlements in the region, namely, the cities of Caloocan, Quezon City, Mandaluyong, San Juan, Makati and Pasay. EDSA is the longest highway in the metropolis and handles an average of 2.34 million vehicles.[7] Commonwealth Avenue is as well an significant highway in the metropolis, it serves the Quezon City area and has a length of 12.4 km (7.7 mi).

Expressways

The Philippines has numerous expressways and most of them are located in the major island of the country, Luzon. The initial expressway systems in the country are the North Luzon Expressway formerly known as North Diversion Road and the South Luzon Expressway, formerly known as South Super Highway. Both were built in the 1970s, during the presidency of Ferdinand Marcos.

The North Luzon Expressway (NLEX) is a 4 to 8-lane limited-access toll expressway that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the Central Luzon region. The expressway begins in Quezon City at a cloverleaf interchange with EDSA. It again passes through various cities and municipalities in the provinces of Bulacan and Pampanga. The expressway currently ends at Mabalacat and merges with the MacArthur Highway, which continues northward into the rest of Central and Northern Luzon.

The South Luzon Expressway (SLEX) is an extra significant expressway in the country, it serves the southern part of Luzon. The expressway is a network of two expressways that connects Metro Manila to the provinces of the CALABARZON region in the southern part of Luzon. It starts at the Paco District of Manila again passes through Manila, Makati, Pasay, Parañaque, Taguig and Muntinlupa in Metro Manila; San Pedro, Biñan City, Carmona in Cavite, the transverses again to Biñan City, Santa Rosa City, Cabuyao City and Calamba City in the province of Laguna and ends in Santo Tomas, Batangas.

The Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway is an extra expressway that serves the region of Central Luzon, the expressway is linked to the North Luzon Expressway through the Mabalacat Interchange. Its southern terminus is at the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales, it passes through the Clark Freeport Zone and its northern terminus is at Brgy. Amucao in Tarlac City, Tarlac. Construction on the expressway began in April 2005, and opened to the public three years later.

The Strong Republic Nautical Highway links a lot of of the islands' road networks through a series of roll-on/roll-off ferries, some rather small covering short distances and some larger vessels that may travel several hours or additional.

The Philippine government and other private sectors are building additional plans and proposals to build new expressways through public–private partnership.

Railways

Rail transportation in the Philippines includes services provided by the three railway networks: the Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT-1 and LRT-2), the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT-3), and the Philippine National Railways (PNR), all of these train services only serve the Metro Manila area and some parts of Luzon. Panay Railways is an existing company that used to run rail lines on Panay (until 1989) and Cebu (until World War II).

The Philippine National Railways is a national-owned railway system of the Philippines, it was established during the Spanish Colonial period. PNR aims to link key cities within the Philippines efficiently and to serve as an instrument in national socio-economic development.[10] It as well aims to improve the rail transportation of the country. The PNR currently operates in the Manila metropolitan area and the provinces of Laguna, Quezon, Camarines Sur and Albay. Before PNR used to serve the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and La Union in the north and Batangas on the South. The PNR used to run the only inter-city train between Metro Manila and Bicol but that is currently suspended.

The Manila Light Rail Transit System or the LRTA system, is a rapid transit system serving the Metro Manila area, it is the initial metro system in Southeast Asia. The system served a total 928,000 passengers each day in 2012. Its 31 stations along over 31 kilometers (19 mi) of mostly elevated track form two lines: the original LRT Line 1 (LRT-1), and the additional modern LRT Line 2 (LRT-2) which passes through the cities of Caloocan, Manila, Marikina, Pasay, San Juan and Quezon City.

Apart from the LRTA system, the Manila Metro Rail Transit System or the MRTC system as well serves Metro Manila. The system is located along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), one of Metro Manila's major thoroughfares. It has 13 stations along its 16.95 km track form a single line which is the MRT Line 3 (MRT-3) which passes through the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasay and Quezon City. Some of the stations of the system have been retrofitted with escalators and elevators for easier access, and ridership has increased. By 2004 MRT-3 had the highest ridership of the three lines, with 400,000 passengers daily.

The University of the Philippines Diliman Automated Guideway Transit System is an automated guideway transit (AGT) system within the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City. It is the initial of its kind to be built in the Philippines.

Water transportation

Waterways

3,219 km; limited to shallow-draft (less than 1.5 m) vessels.

River ferries

The Pasig River Ferry Service is a river ferry service that serves Metro Manila, it is as well the only water-based transportation that cruised the Pasig River. All ferry network had 17 stations operational and 2 lines. The initial line was the Pasig River Line which stretched from Plaza Mexico in Intramuros, Manila to Nagpayong station in Pasig City. The second line was the Marikina River Line which served the Guadalupe station in Makati City up to Santa Elena station in Marikina City.

Ferry services

Because it is an island country, ferry services are an significant means of transportation. A range of ships are used, from large cargo ships to small pump boats. Some trips last for a day or two on large overnight ferris such as those operated by 2GO Travel while other trips can last for less than 15 minutes on small, open-air pump boats such as those that cross the Iloilo Strait.

There are numerous shipping companies in the Philippines. Notable companies include 2GO Travel (the successor to Superferry and Negros Navigation) and Trans-Asia Shipping Lines.

Ports and harbors

The busiest port is the Port of Manila, particularly the Manila International Cargo Terminal and the Eva Macapagal Port Terminal, both in the pier area of Manila. Other cities with bustling ports and piers include Bacolod City, Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu City, Davao City, Butuan, Iligan, Iloilo City, Jolo, Legazpi City, Lucena City, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic, Zamboanga City, Cotabato City, General Santos City, Allen, Ormoc, Ozamiz, Surigao and Tagbilaran. Most of these terminals comprise the Strong Republic Nautical Highway, a nautical system conceptualized under the term of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo where land vehicles can use the roll-on/roll-off (ro-ro) ferries to cross between the different islands.

Air transportation

Airports

Manila, Iloilo, Cebu, Davao, Clark, Subic, and Laoag are the international gateways to the country, with the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) in Manila as the major and premier gateway of the country.

The Ninoy Aquino International Airport serves as the premier gateway of the Philippines, it serves the Metro Manila area and its surrounding regions. It is located in the boundary of Parañaque and Pasay in the National Capital Region. In 2012, NAIA became the 34th busiest airport in the world, passenger volume increased to about eight % to a total of 32.1 million passengers, making it one of the busiest airports in Asia. The Clark International Airport is as well a major gateway to the country, it will be the next international gateway for the metropolitan area and it is planned to replace the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.

The airport mostly serves low-cost carriers that avail themselves of the lower landing fees than those charged at NAIA. Other significant airports in the Philippines is the Mactan-Cebu International Airport in Cebu; the Iloilo International Airport in Iloilo; the Francisco Bangoy International Airport in Davao; and the Zamboanga International Airport in Zamboanga City.

Airlines

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the national flag carrier of the Philippines, it is the initial commercial airline in Asia.[19] The Philippine Airlines remains as the country’s biggest airline company, it has the major number of international flights to the Philippines inclunding domestic flights. The Philippine Airlines links Manila to 14 cities in 8 nations, and flies regularly to 41 domestic destinations outside Manila. The Philippine Airlines as well serves twenty destinations in the Philippines and 32 destinations which are all located in Southeast Asia, South Asia, East Asia, Oceania and North America.

The Cebu Pacific Air is the low fare leader in the country, it is the country's leading domestic airline. It links Manila to 21 different domestic destinations in Philippines and to 12 international destinations with its direct flights. Next offering low fares to domestic destinations, Cebu Pacific launched its international operations on November 2001 and presently flies to Bangkok, Busan, Guangzhou, Ho Chi Minh City, Hong Kong, Jakarta, Kota Kinabalu, Kuala Lumpur, Macau, Osaka, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore and Taipei.

The airline currently operates hubs in Manila, Cebu and Davao.

Other low-cost airlines in the country includes AirAsia Zest, PAL Express, and Tigerair Philippines, these airlines have routes to several tourist destinations in the country at low prices.

The Philippines' automobile industry started during the American Colonial Period from 1898 to 1946, with the introduction of American-made cars, which have been sold in the Philippines ever since. At the same time as again-President Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law some vehicle manufacturers withdrew from the Philippines, some of which returned in the 1990s next the People Power Revolution ousted Marcos in 1986. During the 1973 oil crisis, Marcos advised Filipinos to buy smaller, additional efficient vehicles with 4-cylinder engines. During the early 1990s, a number of car makes entered or re-entered the Philippines, but during the 1997 Asian financial crisis some makers withdrew and sales declined. Since the end of the crisis, automobile sales have increased since with new models.

The country's love affair with the automobile started during the 1960s at the same time as a lot of Filipinos bought their initial automobiles, but interest dwindled during the period of martial law. Next the return of civil governance, interest in cars rose and during the 1990s, magazines like Automotion started, as did several television shows about automobiles. In 2002, C!, an extra automotive magazine, was introduced, since Automotion closed down. Around 2004, Top Gear Philippines entered the car magazine market. Automobile exhibits displaying mainstream to custom-built vehicles are common.