THE BIKING community in Baguio City is pleased to see more people cycling to work.
For bikers, all road users such as drivers, motorcyclists, pedestrians need to acknowledge that cyclists are road users too.
Jim Ward, the co-founder of Daily Cycle Movement (DCM), said during these times, more bicycles are plying the streets of Baguio City.
"There are traditional bikers in Baguio and what we saw happening with the difficulty in transportation and parking is that more and more people look into their garage or yard and take out their old bikes, put some air in the tires and go out biking. The bike has become more relevant during this time. We are going back to the simple way of life," Ward said.
Public utility vehicles are currently operating with a 50 percent capacity. Dividers separate passengers from each other, while drivers are isolated as a health protocol against Covid-19. In the new normal, a cashless way of payment is also foreseen due to the no-touch policy.
With the presence of an unseen enemy, people and employees are either walking to work, working from home, falling in line for public transportation or biking to work.
For Ward, riding a bike can be both safe and dangerous.
"It’s safer because there are fewer cars on the road. It's more dangerous because of lesser cars on the road and people are reckless now. They are speeding because they feel the road is wider," Ward continued.
Of the 1,200 members of the DCM, 70 percent are from Baguio City, 20 percent are from its neighboring town in La Trinidad, and 10 percent in other areas.
The DCM, for the past years, has provided bike clinics, training and has been in talks with the City Government to improve the infrastructures for bikers' safety.
Ward said there are only a few bike parking areas in the city. With the group’s effort, a mall has opened a space for bicycle enthusiasts. A bicycle parking was also opened at the Lake Drive biking area.
Advocating biking in the city
An advocate for biking, Department of Social Welfare and Development Cordillera Regional Director Leo Quintilla, together with some DSWD employees, joined cyclists from government and non-government organizations during an advocacy ride. They distributed pamphlets introducing the benefits of biking within Baguio and calling fellow members in the government to use bikes.
The advocacy platform of DSWD-CAR, dubbed FOCARide, “promotes an active and healthy lifestyle, camaraderie among government workers using an active mode of transportation (bicycle) for their mobility, and to support policies and measures that protects and promotes biker pedestrian safety and mobility."
Quintilla, who is a cyclist himself, promotes the use of bicycles as part of the new normal.
"Part of the strategy for Covid-19, sa bike wala kang kasama, nasusunod ang social distancing, no angkas. You are less one passenger in commuting. You are reducing carbon emission and at the same time advantageous to the health," he added.
The City Council of Baguio previously passed a resolution encouraging the residents of Baguio City to use bicycles as a mode of transportation during the period of the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ) and general community quarantine (GCQ) until such time the public transportation system will fully return to normal.
Councilor Maria Mylen Victoria Yaranon, author of the measure, said the use of bicycles and similar devices are highly encouraged.
The councilor added that riding bicycles can be advantageous to the person and society. Bicycles are seen as a way to reduce the risk of spreading Covid-19 by cutting the number of people inside public transportation. It can also keep pollution levels down.
"And just as important, it will help address the problem of the residents of the city caused by the restriction placed on the public transportation system,” Yaranon said.
United Nations declared June 3 as World Bicycle Day to celebrate and promote the use of bikes as a means of personal transport.
In support of the biking community, the City Government declared June 7 as a day for cyclists in the city.
Need for bike infrastructure, share a road movement
Quintilla said there is a need to advocate for infrastructure like bike lanes and educate drivers to share the road to the cyclists.
"We have to share the road. If they own the road, walang mangyayari. Kailangan may change ng pag-iisip, iyong other road users," Quintilla added.
Joebel Gurang, 44, Daily Cycle Movement member and working for a non-government organization in Manila, said he started biking 14 years ago.
He said for beginners and longtime bicyclists, biking is a means to conquer the worst traffic situation in the city and Manila.
He is currently working from home in Baguio City after failing to return home due to lockdown.
Cyclist Micah Lucenio of the Department of Health Cordillera started biking in 2019. She said biking helps her conquer traffic and be at work on time.
For safety, she wears a helmet and always stays on the rightmost portion of the road. Lucenio said biking is good for the environment and one’s health.
Gurang and Lucenio both support the advocacy of using bicycles.
"Bicycles also belong on our roads as we are also road users. I think it is time that we should recognize bicycles as a means of transportation not only for sports but for the community (bike to work, bike to school)," Gurang added.
The two also remain hopeful for a bike lane in the city to protect cyclists.
"Good infrastructure, safe lanes for bicycles. I know it is a long battle because we have narrow roads here. But there are some areas here where we could install and also we also need other road users to respect the bikers and bikers should respect the other road users as well," Gurang said.
With a noted increase in the number of bikers plying the city route under modified general community quarantine, the City Council last week requested government bodies to study the establishment of bike lanes in barangays, cities and national roads.