MMDA imposing fines on bike lane violators, riders: make it shared lane

Riders appeal to make Bike Lane shared with motorcycles

Starting today, August 21, 2023, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) will be stricter in enforcing the Bicycle Lane policy – meaning that motorists, especially motorcyclists who continue to ride in this space for cyclists, will be slapped with a PHP 1,000 fine.

The Metro Manila Bicycle Lane was a project of the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and was very useful during the pandemic when public transportation was limited. The government spent a total of PHP 1.09 billion to build sidewalks and mark roads for Bicycle Lane use.

However, with vehicular volume now back at pre-pandemic numbers and traffic congestion at its worst again, many riders appeal to the government to allow the mixed-use of Bicycle Lanes for both cyclists and motorcyclists.

On MMDA’s official social media page, one commenter argued that considering the number of cyclists and Personal Mobility Device (PMD) riders who use the Bicycle Lane vs the number of motorcyclists (many of which are delivery and MC Taxi riders), would it be more beneficial for everyone to just make it a shared lane for all two-wheelers?

Bicycle Lane as shared lane in Valenzuela City

The City of Valenzuela is one of the cities here in Metro Manila to adopt a Bicycle Lane Ordinance. After realizing that the roads within city limits were not designed to accommodate an exclusive Bicycle Lane in the first place, and the fact that the roads are considered narrow by today’s standards, the city immediately amended the ordinance and made the Bicycle Lane shared use for cyclists and motorcyclists.

Section 1 of Ordinance No. 1064, Series of 2022 reads “Single motorcycles, however, to further mitigate traffic congestion, are allowed to share the use of these exclusive [bicycle] lanes except on Saturdays and Sundays which are exclusively designated for bicycles and e-scooters.”

Further, the new ordinance limits motorcyclists to 20 kilometers per hour only whenever they are on the bicycle lane. The new ordinance was signed on November 28, 2022, and took effect 15 days after its publication in a newspaper of general circulation.