More Bike Lanes Please!

I have been seeing a lot of bike lanes from Quezon City to Pasay City in Metro Manila. This is really something that should have been a priority even before COVID 19 has forced us to find another alternative mode of transportation. Even before the pandemic, the bicycle has been hailed as the key to a progressive future for this country. Yet, it is only at this time that everyone has taken serious notice of the importance of the bicycle in helping us survive this pandemic.

The emergence of bicycle lanes is an answered prayer, prayed for a very long time by cyclists, and those who commute by bike to work. The presence of bike lanes will definitely encourage more people to use a bicycle as a means of going to their destination. One of the main reasons why most people are reluctant to use a bicycle to work is safety reasons. Riding a bike to work is very dangerous as you will share the road with trucks, cars, jeepneys, and motorcycles. With bike lanes, there is a designated area for bicycles safe from motorized vehicles.

It is time that we encourage the use of bicycles as a primary mode of transportation. The bicycle is cheaper, easier to maintain, eco-friendly and it takes a very small space that solves parking problems. Biking also gives that much-needed exercise for employees seated for more than eight (8) hours in their cubicles. The lack of exercise is the usual reason for various lifestyle diseases such as diabetes, stroke, and heart ailments. 

Compared to cars and other motorized vehicles, it is very practical to use a bicycle. Even if owning a car today has become much more affordable due to the within-reach marketing plans of car dealers, the bicycle remains to be the only means of transportation that is pocket-friendly for all classes in our society. A bicycle is also much cheaper to maintain compared to cars and even to a motorcycle.

I hope that the authorities will continue to set up infrastructures that will further encourage the public to use bicycles. There should be more bicycle-friendly regulations such as mandatory bike racks in malls and government offices. Buses, MRT and LRT, and other public transport should allocate more space for bicycles.