Transportation in the Philippines

Land Transportation

Railways

"See main article - Rail transport in the Philippines

Most are on Luzon, operated by the Philippine National Railways. The main line is from Manila south to the Bicol Region. The railways' narrow gauge (1067 mm), 492 km (an additional 405 km are not in operation) (2001)

Elevated Mass Railway Systems (Greater Manila Area)

* Light Rail Transit (LRT-1/Metrorail/Yellow Line), from Monumento, Caloocan City to Baclaran, Parañaque City.
* Light Rail Transit (LRT-2/Megatren/Purple Line), from Santolan, Marikina City to Avenida, Manila.
* Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3/Metrostar/Blue Line), from North Avenue, Quezon City to Taft Avenue, Pasay City.

Highways

*Total: 199,950 km
*Paved: 39,590 km
*Unpaved: 160,360 km (1998 est.)

Main Highways

* Pan-Philippine Highway (Maharlika Highway)
* North Luzon Expressway (NLEx), from Balintawak, Quezon City in Metro Manila to Santa Ines, Pampanga.
* South Luzon Expressway (SLEx), from the City of Manila to Calamba City in Laguna.
* Metro Manila Skyway, an elevated tollway that complements with the South Luzon Expressway and runs from Sen. Gil Puyat Ave. (Buendia) in Makati City to Bicutan, Parañaque City. It will extend from Bicutan to Filinvest and further into North Luzon Expressway also.
* Manila-Cavite Expressway (Manila Coastal Road), from Parañaque City in Metro Manila to Bacoor, Cavite
* Manila North Road (MacArthur Highway), from Caloocan City to San Fernando City, La Union
* Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway (SCTEx), connecting the former U.S. Military Bases and now strategic economic hubs of the Subic Bay Freeport Zone in Zambales and the Clark Special Economic Zone in Pampanga, and the Central Luzon province of Tarlac
* Southern Tagalog Arterial Road (STAR Tollway), from the town of Santo Tomas to the Batangas International Port in Batangas City, all of which located in the province of Batangas
* Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA), from SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City to Monumento, Caloocan City
* C-5 Road, faster alternate road for motorists from Quezon City to Makati City to avoid heavy traffic in EDSA
* Aguinaldo Highway, the longest highway connecting from Manila Coastal Road Bacoor, Cavite to Tagaytay.

Pipelines

* Petroleum products: 357 km

Public Utility Vehicles

*Taxi
*Jeepney - Filipino made Vehicle

Bus Companies

*Saulog Transit
*Dagupan Bus Lines
*Victory Liner
*Ceres Liner
*Philtranco
*Erjohn & Almark
*Jasper Jean
*J.S. Vergara Lines (now taken over by Jasper Jean)
*San Agustin
*Alfonso Liner (before it was Crow Bus Inc.)
*Cavite Batangas
*Lorna Express
*Kellen

Water Transportation

Ports and Harbors

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 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 24-hour "Roll-on Roll-off (Ro-Ro)" ship service to traverse the different islands of the country at minimal costs.

Merchant marine

* Total: 480 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,973,024 GRT/DWT|9,025,087|metric|first=yes

Ships by type

* Bulk 159, cargo 122, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk 9, container 7, liquified gas 13, livestock carrier 9, passenger 4, passenger/cargo 12, petroleum tanker 47, refrigerated cargo 20, roll-on/roll-off 19, short-sea passenger 32, specialized tanker 2, vehicle carrier 20 (1999 est.)

"Note:"a flag of convenience registry: Japan owns 19 ships, Hong Kong 5, Cyprus 1, Denmark 1, Greece 1, Netherlands 1, Singapore 1, and UK 1 (1998 est.)

Waterways

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

River Ferries

Pasig River Ferry Service (Manila - Marikina City)

Shipping Companies

*Sulpicio Lines
*SuperFerry
*Negros Navigation

Air Transportation

Airports

Quantity: 266 (1999 est.)

* with paved runways: 76
** over 3,047 m: 4
** 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5
** 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26
** 914 to 1,523 m: 31
** under 914 m: 10 (1999 est.)

*with unpaved runways: 190
** 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3
** 914 to 1,523 m: 66
** under 914 m: 121 (1999 est.)

* International Gateways
** Ninoy Aquino International Airport (Manila)
** Mactan-Cebu International Airport (Cebu City)
** Francisco Bangoy International Airport (Davao City)
** Diosdado Macapagal International Airport (Clark Special Economic Zone, Pampanga)
** Subic Bay International Airport (Subic Bay Freeport Zone, Zambales)
** Laoag International Airport (Laoag, Ilocos Norte)
** General Santos International Airport (General Santos City)
** Zamboanga International Airport (Zamboanga City)Iloilo International Airport (Santa Barbara-Cabatuan, Iloilo)Heliports

* Quantity: 1 (1999 est.)

Local Airlines

* Air Philippines
* Asian Spirit
* Cebu Pacific
* Interisland Airlines
* Pacific Pearl Airways
* Philippine Airlines (national flag carrier)
* PAL Express
* South East Asian Airlines
* Tair Airways
* Spirit of Manila

History

1940s

Vehicles

During this period, there were 50,000 automobiles in the region. The carabao was used as a primary transportation source. The country's first public mass-vehicular transportation service was De Dios Transit Bus Corp., providing public mass transportation in major roads of Manila after the Second World War

Railways

There were 1,400 km of narrow-gauge track, owned by either the Maniacutela Railway Company (based in Luzon) or the Philippine Railway Company (an American company based in Panay and Cebu). 1,130 km of these tracks were on Luzon, with about 50% of this amount located in the central plain. In addition, there were some 400 km of privately owned track in the central plain of Luzon. All of this, with the exception of a stretch above Manila, was single-track.

Roads

There were 22,960 km of highway in the Philippine archipelago. More than half of these roads were in central and southern Luzon and three major highways of this island were, and probably still are, Routes 1, 3, and 5. These routes were two-lane roads with concrete or asphalt surfacing. Each of these 3 roads enters the capital, Manila, and their access roads linked the various parts of the island.

ee also

*Office of the President of the Philippines
*Department of Public Works and Highways
*Department of Transportation and Communications
*Metropolitan Manila Development Authorithy

External links

* [http://www.gov.ph/ Republic of the Philippines]
* [http://www.op.gov.ph/ Office of the President of the Philippines]
* [http://www.dotc.gov.ph/ Department of Transportation and Communications]
* [http://www.dpwh.gov.ph/ Department of Public Works and Highways]
* [http://www.mmda.gov.ph/ Metropolitan Manila Development Authority]