Have you ever been on the old Pasig Ferries? The Pasig River Ferry was the only water based mode of transportation in Metro Manila before it was closed indefinitely last Feb 2011 :(. The reason? The government is losing heavily in operating the ferry service. The government spends 100 million in the ferry system but it only earns 7 million from the service. Also, the water vessel specs are not compatible with the contract provisions. Also some stations are not operational since the parts are not navigable, wasting government (and ultimately our money). I rode the ferry once in my lifetime in 2010, and it was so awesome! Imagine looking from inside the watercraft the riverside buildings from Guadalupe in Makati to Binondo in Manila. No, you can’t smell the Pasig fumes here. Yes, the government is busy building Rails, Roads and Bridges for the PPP programming, but it should also look on the possibility of redeveloping the River Ferry System. As of now, one can cruise from SM Mall of Asia to the coastal towns and cities of Manila Bay (Jetti), and this is planned to extend further to the Coastal Areas of Batangas. The ultimate plan is to have a waterway system from Manila Bay to Laguna de Bay, and one of Burnham’s Highlights is to develop Manila’s rivers for navigation. So how about a Manila Bay cruise eastward to Laguna de Bay?

Have you ever been on the old Pasig Ferries?

The Pasig River Ferry was the only water based mode of transportation in Metro Manila before it was closed indefinitely last Feb 2011 :(. The reason? The government is losing heavily in operating the ferry service. The government spends 100 million in the ferry system but it only earns 7 million from the service. Also, the water vessel specs are not compatible with the contract provisions. Also some stations are not operational since the parts are not navigable, wasting government (and ultimately our money).

I rode the ferry once in my lifetime in 2010, and it was so awesome! Imagine looking from inside the watercraft the riverside buildings from Guadalupe in Makati to Binondo in Manila. No, you can’t smell the Pasig fumes here.

Yes, the government is busy building Rails, Roads and Bridges for the PPP programming, but it should also look on the possibility of redeveloping the River Ferry System. As of now, one can cruise from SM Mall of Asia to the coastal towns and cities of Manila Bay (Jetti), and this is planned to extend further to the Coastal Areas of Batangas. The ultimate plan is to have a waterway system from Manila Bay to Laguna de Bay, and one of Burnham’s Highlights is to develop Manila’s rivers for navigation. So how about a Manila Bay cruise eastward to Laguna de Bay?

@3 months ago with 36 notes
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  1. blitzkrieg013 reblogged this from theurbanhistorian
  2. typewrittendirtynotes answered: What? They closed it down? It’s a shame it’s a very lovely thing, quite unknown though.
  3. kokoskwaderno reblogged this from thisismanila
  4. lendlklein answered: River cruise is awesome, and developed countries have it. I hope they revive it, and I’m hoping more that people will appreciate and use it.
  5. tempurasyndrome answered: I think this closed down last year. :c
  6. ynitsed08 reblogged this from theurbanhistorian
  7. tookiesan reblogged this from theurbanhistorian
  8. dearmonday reblogged this from thisismanila and added:
    This would be really awesome.
  9. thisismanila reblogged this from theurbanhistorian
  10. jayceevillareal reblogged this from theurbanhistorian and added:
    Sinara na pala yung Ferry System sa...:( Naalala ko yung mga araw na kung saan sumasakay...
  11. fi2xx answered: Sad to know they closed it down. Wrote a paper about the ferries back in 2008. It was a pretty awesome experience :)
  12. ejejejejot reblogged this from theurbanhistorian
  13. latenightepisodes answered: I was able to, and it was surprisingly pleasant! It was best during sunset, almost like a golden cruise. Akala ko, ibabalik. :(
  14. theafternoonkid answered: This made me sad. :( I only rode the ferry once because we had a ferry terminal plate last year.
  15. this-is-ariels answered: Wasn’t the ferry system really part of Burnham’s grand plan for Manila? A shame they’re only /trying/ to push for it after several decades.
  16. girl-in-a-well answered: What a shame, I wanted to ride it someday. :(
  17. theurbanhistorian posted this