Transportation in the Philippines

Manila Light Rail Transit System

Philippine Airlines

Trans-Asia Shipping Lines

Transportation in the Philippines is relatively underdeveloped, partly due to the mountainous areas and scattered islands, this is also the result of the government's persistent underinvestment in the infrastructure of the country. The Philippine government is pushing to improve the transportation system in the country through various projects.

Jeepneys are the most popular mode of public transportation in the Philippines, they also have become a ubiquitous symbol of the Philippine culture. Another popular mode of public transportation in the country are the Tricycles, they are a common means of passenger transport in the country especially on rural areas. Trains are also becoming a popular mode of public transportation in the country especially in the bustling metropolis of Manila. The Philippines has three main railway networks: the LRT and MRT which only serves Metro Manila and the Philippine National Railways which also serves the metropolis and some parts of Luzon. Taxis and buses are also other important modes of public transport in the Philippines.

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

Land transportation

Roads

Main article: Major roads of the Philippines

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%

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 past by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH), but responsibility for maintaining these roads have now 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 percent of the total road network is paved.

Highways

EDSA

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 most known highways of the Philippines, the highway serves the National Capital Region of the Philippines, it also serves as an important 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. Commonwealth Avenue is also an important highway in the metropolis, it serves the Quezon city area and has a length of 12.4 km (7.7 mi).

Expressways

North Luzon Expressway (NLEX)

Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEX)

Main article: List of Expressways in the Philippines

The Philippines has numerous expressways and most of them are located in the main island of the country, Luzon. The first 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 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 then 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 another important 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 then 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 another 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 many 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 might travel several hours or more.

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

Railways

Main article: Rail transport in the Philippines

Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT)

Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT)

Rail transportation in the Philippines is a growing means of transportation for passengers and cargo in the country. Train services are provided by the three main railway networks of the country: the Manila Light Rail Transit System (LRT), the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT), and the Philippine National Railways (PNR), these train services only serves the Metro Manila area and some parts of Luzon.

The Philippine National Railways is a state-owned railway system of the Philippines, it was established during the Spanish Colonial period of the country. PNR aims to link key cities within the Philippines efficiently and to serve as an instrument in national socio-economic development. It also 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 to serve the provinces of Bulacan, Pampanga, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan and La Union in the north and Batangas on the South.

The Manila Light Rail Transit System, popularly known as the LRT, is a rapid transit system serving the Metro Manila area, it is the first metro system in Southeast Asia. Quick and inexpensive to ride, the LRT serves 605,000 passengers each day. Its 31 stations along over 31 kilometers (19 mi) of mostly elevated track form two lines. The LRT network consists of two lines: the original LRT Line 1 (LRT-1) or Yellow Line, and the more modern MRT Line 2 (MRT-2), or Purple Line.

Apart from the LRT, the Manila Metro Rail Transit System (MRT) also serves Metro Manila. The MRT is located along the Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), one of Metro Manila's main thoroughfares. It has thirteen stations along its 16.95 km track which passes through the cities of Makati, Mandaluyong, Pasay and Quezon City. Some of the stations of the MRT 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 UP Diliman AGT is an automated guideway transit (AGT) system currently under construction, it will be the first of its kind to be built in the Philippines. The AGT will be developed within the campus of the University of the Philippines Diliman in Quezon City.

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 also the only water-based transportation that cruised the Pasig River. The entire ferry network had 17 stations operational and 2 lines. The first 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

Supercat Fast Ferry Corporation

Due to the country's scattered islands, ferry services became one of the most important means of transportation in the Philippines. As the islands of the Philippines are separated by different bodies of water, the sea plays an integral part in travel. A range of seafarers are available, from huge cargo ships to small ferry boats; take long trips that last for a day or two with regular ship lines or take shorter ones with ferries.

There are numerous shipping companies in the Philippines and these companies provide routes to different cities in the country, especially on holidays. Notable shipping companies of the Philippines is the SuperFerry, Supercat Fast Ferry Corporation, Trans-Asia Shipping Lines, and the Negros Navigation, which is the oldest domestic shipping company of the country.

Ports and harbors

See also: List of ports in the Philippines and Philippine Ports Authority

The main gateway to the Philippines through the sea is through 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, Batangas City, Cagayan de Oro, Cebu, Davao, Butuan, Iligan, Iloilo, Jolo, Legazpi, Lucena, Puerto Princesa, San Fernando, Subic, Zamboanga, Cotabato, 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) ship service to traverse the different islands of the country at minimal costs.

Air Transportation

Airports

Terminal 3 of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport

Main article: List of airports in the Philippines

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 main 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 percent to a total of 32.1 million passengers, making it one of the busiest airports in Asia. The Clark International Airport is also a major gateway to the country, it will be the future 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 important 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

Cebu Pacific, the leading low-cost airline in the country

Main article: List of airlines of the Philippines

The Philippine Airlines (PAL) is the national flag carrier of the Philippines, it is the first commercial airline in Asia. The Philippine Airlines remains as the country’s biggest airline company, it has the largest number of international flights to the Philippines as well as domestic flights. The Philippine Airlines links Manila to 14 cities in 8 countries, and flies regularly to 41 domestic destinations outside Manila. The Philippine Airlines also 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. After offering low fares to domestic destinations, Cebu Pacific launched its international operations on November 2001 and now 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 Air Philippines, South East Asian Airlines, Laoag International Airlines, Zest Air, and Pacificair, these airlines have routes to several tourist destinations in the country at low prices.

See also

• Public transport in Manila
• Transportation in Manila
• Department of Transportation and Communications
• Department of Public Works and Highways