The Pasig River Ferry Service (PRFS) received one more ferry boat to add to its fleet to further increase ridership amid limited public transportation as the implementation of general community quarantine in Metro Manila continues.
The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) accepted M/B Vicente, a 50-seater ferry boat donated by New San Jose Builders, Inc. (NSJBI), in a turnover ceremony held at Guadalupe Ferry Station in Makati recently.
MMDA Chief Benhur Abalos expressed his gratefulness to the NSJBI, headed by its Chairman Jose Acuzar, for the donation that he said is “expected to augment the shortage of ferry boats for our day-to-day operations”.
Acuzar said that the NJSBI is honored to be a part of the solution to alleviate heavy traffic.
“The Pasig River Ferry Service promotes the beauty of the historic river.”
“The Pasig River Ferry Service is an effective alternative transportation that doesn’t just lessen the land vehicle volume but also promotes the beauty of the historic river,” he explained.
The PRFS accommodated a total of 436,931 passengers from April 2014 to October 2019, which, Abalos lamented, could have been higher if not for the recurrent problem on water hyacinths that oftentimes resulted in cancelled or limited trips.
“We will continue to improve the ferry service for a comfortable and safe riding experience of the public.”
“We assure the public that we will continue to improve the ferry service for a comfortable and safe riding experience of the public,” the traffic chief said.
The traffic head also said that he plans to double the ferry boats, shorten the waiting time of one hour to 30 mins to encourage more passengers, and open the Napindan dockyard in Taguig.
He is also eyeing to add more routes to the ferry service that will interconnect Manila Bay, Pasig River, and Laguna Lake.
MMDA Deputy Chairman and concurrent PRFS head Undersecretary Frisco San Juan, Jr., for his part, said that ferry service is set to reopen three existing ferry stations in Maybunga in Pasig City and Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Lambingan in Manila.
Construction is also ongoing for three new stations in Quinta Market in Manila, Circuit Makati, and Kalawaan in Pasig.
The PRFS can cater a total of 455 passengers through the following 11 currently operating vessels, each with 50% limited seating capacity in compliance with the Inter-agency Task Force on Emerging Infectious Diseases (IATF-EID):
- 4 units with 36 seating capacity each
- 3 units with 55 seating capacity each
- 2 units with 57 seating capacity each
- 2 units with 16 capacity each
In compliance with President Rodrigo Duterte’s directive to enhance the PRFS, the MMDA refurbished 11 ferry stations from Pinagbuhatan in Pasig to Escolta in Manila and relaunched the service last December 2019, offering free rides to passengers as an alternative means of transportation.
Albeit halted in operations for four months, the PRFS resumed its operations last August 2020 to help meet the transport needs of medical frontliners, government employees, and other authorized persons of allowed industries and business establishments and is now open to the public.