Riding a bike to work is not only economical but also beneficial to health and the environment.
This has been proven true by Rey Panique, a City Hall job hire assigned at the City Planning and Development Office (CPDO). Thanks to the bike given by the Iloilo City Government.
Panique is one of the 20 recipients of bikes won by the City Government after winning the Gold Award during the Bike Lane Awards 2022.
Since receiving the bike last January 2023, the 40-year old employee pedals his way to work from Sto. Domingo, Arevalo to City Proper. This can save him around P50 for jeepney fare a day.
“It’s a big help, I can use the savings to buy viand.”
“Daku nga bulig gid, ibakal ko pa na sud-an (It’s a big help, I can use the savings to buy viand),” he said.
Aside from sparing him from transportation expenses, biking to work for Panique is also a form of exercise and a way to help the environment being a low-carbon mode of transport.
“He can also avoid or get out easily from traffic every day.”
He can also avoid or get out easily from traffic every day, he added.
Panique encourages his fellow City Government employees and the public to shift to biking in going work for their own benefit, too.
In Iloilo City, biking is a safe means of transportation because of dedicated bicycle lanes which include a four-kilometer protected lane.
Called the Iloilo City Bike Network, it is a safe, scenic and eco-friendly bike path totaling some 50 kilometers.
The City Government under Mayor Jerry Treñas embarked on a bike lane linkage project to connect three major bike lane networks – Sen. Benigno Aquino Jr. Avenue, the University Loop, and the 12-kilometer bikeable section of Iloilo River Esplanade, plazas and parks across the city, as it aims to have a bikeable and walkable city thus reducing our carbon footprint.
This initiative has paved the way for the City Government to gain prestigious awards and recognitions.
Iloilo City is a Galing Pook Awardee 2022 for I-BIKE, as well as two-time Gold Awardee for both Mobility Awards and Bike Lane Awards.
In November 2023, the city which is known as the Bike Capital of the Philippines, will also host the National Bike Day Awards.
“With our back-to-back gold awards, we eagerly anticipate the chance to showcase our thriving sustainable initiatives, highlighting why our city stands as a premier bike-friendly destination,” Treñas said.
