The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is pushing to include the Philippines' bike lane routes in the popular real-time navigation app Google Maps to help cyclists on their daily commutes.
In a statement on Thursday, Nov. 25, Transportation Secretary Arthur P. Tugade said the DOTr has already made a request and now coordinating with Google regarding the project.
"This will be a very good innovation for Google Maps considering that many Filipinos now are riding bikes as their main mode of transportation which brings significant health and environmental benefits especially amid the pandemic," Tugade said.
Google has yet to approve the Department's proposal but the DOTr chief is optimistic that the tech giant will "most likely pursue their request as it is a supporter of active transport."
"We have asked Google to consider this suggestion top priority considering the increasing number of Filipino cyclists. We are confident that we can win their support on this," he added.
The DOTr has already completed its 500-kilometer bike lane network in metropolitan cities in the country including Metro Manila (313.12 kilometers), Metro Cebu (129.47 kilometers), and Metro Davao (54.74 kilometers).
The bike lane project, which was funded under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, has pavement markings, physical separators, solar-powered road studs, thermoplastic paints, road signages, and bike racks.