Poe urges DOTr: Fund biking, walking infrastructures for 'new normal'

Biking and walking lanes must be funded by the Department of Transportation as alternative for commuters unable to get public rides under the "new normal" stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, Senator Grace Poe said Wednesday.

"Many of our citizens ride bicycles just to reach their places of work. Their perseverance must be met with the necessary safeguards," Poe, chair of the Senate Committee on Public Services, said in a statement.

“This is our chance to make our cities more bikeable and walkable, and thus more liveable,” she pointed out.

Earlier this month, the DOTr acknowledged that bikes

Sales of bicycles also increased in the past weeks as many workers in Metro Manila shifted to biking for transportation. 

Last Sunday, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority set up a bike lane on EDSA for the dry run of the new traffic scheme amid the COVID-19 situation.

Mass transportation has been suspended in the capital region and other areas affected by COVID-19 to prevent further transmission of the virus. —LBG, GMA News