DOTC chief eyes cable cars to decongest Manila traffic

The solution for Metro Manila’s traffic nightmare is up in the air—literally.

Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said that he is considering the use of cable cars to ease the heavy traffic plaguing Metro Manila.

In an interview on ANC’s Headstart, Tugade said that he is looking to adapt the Bolivia model of using cable cars not only for decongesting traffic but also for “scenic purposes.”

READ: ‘Iron-fisted’ Tugade to tackle traffic

He said that cable cars that can carry 35 persons in each gondola will be installed first in Pasig and Makati districts and can be operational within 18 months.

No other details on the stations or where exactly the cable car system will be placed were mentioned.

“Pinag-aaralan ho yung detalye — maybe it’s technically not accurate on my part to be saying that… But suffice to say at the moment that it is seriously being looked into. Alam niyo ho ba kung bakit? Ang sabi ho sa’kin longest ay one year and six months, operational [na ang cable car],” Tugade said.

(The details are being studied — maybe it’s technically not accurate on my part to be saying that… But suffice it to say at the moment that it is seriously being looked into. Do you know why? I was told that the longest time it will take is one year and six months, and then the cable car will be operational.)

The incoming Transportation secretary said that he has already approached a cable car manufacturer to discuss his vision.

“‘Yung manufacturer ho ng cable car na gumawa sa Bolivia pa o sa Bogota nakausap ko na, so dinedecide na kung saan.  Ang suhestyon ko magke-cable car ka not only as means of transportation but also for scenic purposes,” Tugade said.

(I already spoke to the cable car manufacturer who was the one who built in Bolivia or Bogota, so the place is being decided on. My suggestion for the cable cars is not only as means of transportation but also for scenic purposes.)

A similar cable car system to ferry passengers from Sta. Rosa City, Laguna to Makati City was also being eyed by Tugade in the long run.

Bolivia has launched the longest cable car system in the world in 2014—an 11-kilometer gondola system carrying passengers from La Paz to El Alto.

Cable cars are also used to transport passengers in different parts of Latin America such as in Caracas in Venezuela, Manizales and Medellin in Colombia, and Rio de Janeiro in Brazil.

Aside from baring his cable car proposal, Tugade said that he is waiting for emergency powers from President-elect Rodrigo Duterte to open up roads in exclusive villages in Metro Manila for motorists. –Aries Joseph Hegina , JE/rga

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