Boat and bus hybrid to ferry commuters on Pasig River

MMDA yesterday has conducted a test run for the prototype of MMDA’s River Bus Ferry to be used in transporting commuters along the 25-kilometer Pasig River. If everything goes well we could be seeing about 40 of these hybrids by April 2014.

Though it didn’t work out back in 2011 mainly due to financial losses, the service is being revived this year as part of helping decongest the traffic in Metro Manila due to the major road constructions that are simultaneously going on.

The ferry hybrid was originally a tug boat installed with bus seats that can now accommodate up to 40 people. When this pushes through and becomes operational sometime in April, people would just have to pay a minimal fare to ride the ferry that would be passing through Manila, Makati, Mandaluyong, and Pasig City.

Hopefully, the re-implementation of these ferries would help lessen the congestion that we’re experiencing today — more so during rush hour. It was reported that the river’s width has an equivalent of 10 road lanes so if that’s going to be utilized well, coupled by an efficient system, I personally think they’re up to something really good here.

It’s just up to the public if they would ride the ferries as previous complaints include that unpleasant Pasig River smell.

{Sources 1, 2}