ILOILO City – The number of bikers in this southern city has increased.
According to the Iloilo Bike Ed for Road Safety Facebook page which is part of the city’s bike count activity, the number of bikers increased by 33 percent.
The bike count volunteers were able to log a total of 8,628 bikers during the third “Friday Bike Count” on June 17 – sharp increase from the first count on June 3 (6,493 bikers).
The bike count was conducted in 10 strategic locations in the city.
Notable increases were found on the Sen. Benigno Aquino JR. Avenue – El 98 intersection (50 percent increase); Molo Plaza intersection (37 percent increase) and Avancena Street – Quezon Street intersection (29 percent increase).
Among the factors cited for the increase in bikers are the rising prices of fuel and the Local Public Transport Route Plan (LPTRP) that modified the routes of some jeepneys.
“This increase comes as no surprise given that as of June 14, per liter prices have gone up by P28.70 for gasoline, P41.15 for diesel and P37.95 for kerosene since the start of 2022, according to the Department of Energy’s latest monitor,” the group said.
They added that the new routes implemented under LPTRP confused commuters and made them spend more for fare.
The second and last Friday Bike Count for Iloilo City was held on June 10 and June 24, respectively. The group is yet to release the total bike count for the four Fridays of June.
The Friday Bike Count is a volunteer-run initiative that aims to generate information that can assist in crafting data-backed transport policies and in planning inclusive mobility infrastructure. (With a report from Iloilo Bike Ed for Road Safety/PN)
