Bicycle-owning households outnumber those with cars

LAST week, new information — with significant implications for decision makers — came to light about the mobility environment of Filipino households. On January 14, Christian Michael "Mike" Entoma, a senior survey specialist of the Social Weather Stations (SWS), presented findings of research conducted on bicycle utilization that were based on five probability-based national surveys conducted between May 4, 2020 and May 2, 2021, with sample sizes ranging from 1,200 to 4,010. The results provided solid evidence that cycling is a mainstream mode of travel for Filipinos and deserves priority attention and support.

Up until the SWS surveys, I had not heard of any other effort to measure bicycle ownership and use at a national level. In fact, bicycles received zero-to-minimal coverage in earlier transport master plans and investment studies.