Taking inspiration from New York’s ferry system, the Department of Transportation plans to develop the Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake Ferry System Project (MAPALLA).
Transportation Undersecretary Timothy John Batan said that the agency is working alongside the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center for the MAPALLA Ferry System, which is seen to provide commuters an additional and efficient transit system.
“We’re thinking of mobilizing P15 to 20 billion to put in a mega project [MAPALLA]. We’re thinking of an all electric ferry fleet, multiple stations,” Batan said.
He said that the ferry system will be patterned after the Chao Phraya River Ferry System in Bangkok, Thailand and New York Ferry System in New York City.
“Some of the things we can compare this with is the Chao Phraya River Ferry System in Bangkok, the New York Ferry System in New York. Those are the examples we are looking at to replicate,” Batan said, adding that the project will be a commuter-type ferry system.
“This will not be a touristic ferry system. When you talk about ferry there is touristic and there’s a commuter. This is going to be commuter. This is something commuters can use on a daily basis to get to and from their places of work,” he added.
Proposals to participate in the project preparation for MAPALLA Ferry System Project are gaining traction, according to the Usec. Batan.
The MAPALLA Ferry System seeks to connect the waterways of Metro Manila, Cavite and Laguna via a high-capacity, high-frequency and low carbon commuter vessels.
Through a high-capacity, high-quality mass transit ferry, the MAPALLA Ferry System will have intermodal transfers with other transit systems and active mobility networks.
Improved mobility and connectivity in the metropolis is now in the offing for commuters with the Manila Bay-Pasig River-Laguna Lake Ferry System (MAPALLA) Ferry System Project in the works.
