On a recent trip to Bangkok, I noticed how the city transforms the unused space beneath its elevated BTS tracks into long, shaded walkways lined with trees. These simple corridors give people a safe, pleasant way to move without battling heat, pollution, or traffic.
Metro Manila can do even better — by building a Skyway for Cyclists and E-Bike Users, a protected elevated mobility network connecting Bulacan to Alabang, and Mall of Asia to Antipolo.
For decades, we’ve relied on the same traffic “solutions”: road widening, flyovers, coding, andenforcement. None of these works because everyone — cars, jeepneys, buses, motorcycles, and pedestrians — is trapped on the same congested ground level. What we need is what Bangkok created: a second layer of movement, free from chaos below.
Use what we already have
This network does not require building everything from scratch.
Like Bangkok, we can build most segments directly under existing elevated structures:
Under Skyway pillars
Under MRT-3 and LRT-2 viaducts
Along NLEX/SLEX connectors
Along bridges, riverbanks, and drainage easements
Standalone elevated segments need to be built only where no elevated structure exists. This hybrid approach drastically lowers cost and avoids right-of-way battles that plague major infrastructure.
A health solution disguised as transport
A safe elevated cycling network is not just a mobility project; it is a public health intervention.
1. It reduces road crashes and deaths.
Over 12,000 Filipinos die in road crashes annually — many of them cyclists or pedestrians.
A dedicated elevated lane removes bikes from dangerous intersections, trucks, jeepneys, and fast-moving traffic. It eliminates the largest source of road trauma for cyclists.
2. It reduces NCDs (diabetes, hypertension, obesity, heart disease).
Most Metro Manila commutes are 8–15 km — perfect for daily cycling or e-bikes.
Regular active mobility reduces the risk of:
Type 2 diabetes
Hypertension
Stroke
Heart disease
Obesity
This aligns directly with the country’s NCD prevention agenda and the DOH’s Health Promotion
Strategy.
3. It reduces pollution exposure.
Street-level air quality along EDSA, Commonwealth, and C5 is extremely poor due to diesel exhaust.
An elevated skyway separates cyclists from the most polluted layer of the city, reducing long-term respiratory risk.
In short, this project cuts congestion and cuts disease at the same time.
The costs — and a realistic phased plan
Using cost benchmarks from the EDSA Greenways Project and elevated pedestrian decks:
₱1.3 to ₱1.7B per km for elevated segments
₱150 to ₱300M per km for at-grade connectors
A full 70 to 80 km network would cost:
₱120 to ₱150B (fully elevated), or₱50 to ₱70B (hybrid using existing structures)
This is one-third the cost of building a comparable elevated expressway.
PHASE 1 (₱30–₱40B): 20 km under existing structures (Balintawak–QC, MOA–Makati, Ortigas–Antipolo). Immediate high impact.
PHASE 2 (₱15–₱20B): Standalone connectors where structures don’t exist. Expands network into a real grid.
PHASE 3 (₱10–₱15B): Outer extensions to Bulacan, Alabang, and Marikina/UP/BGC.
The fastest way to reduce congestion
If even 10 to 12 percent of commuters shift to e-bikes and bicycles, major roads immediately ease.
Traffic is a volume problem: Removing a small percentage of road users creates a large improvement in flow.
Your elevated skyway removes cyclists entirely from the road, the only solution that directly frees space for remaining buses, jeepneys, and cars.
A mobility upgrade for ordinary Filipinos
This is not for hobby cyclists. It will benefit:
Students
BPO and office workers
Delivery riders
Factory employees
Low- and middle-income commuters
These are the Filipinos who currently spend the most time and money battling traffic.
A safe elevated corridor gives them a clean, affordable, and predictable alternative.
Bangkok has shown the way — Manila can surpass it
Bangkok proved how repurposing space under elevated structures can reshape how a city moves.
Metro Manila can go further by dedicating that space to the most efficient, inclusive, and health-promoting modes: bicycles and e-bikes.
This project is not just about transport. It is about road safety, NCD prevention, clean air, equity, and urban dignity.
If our government is searching for a legacy infrastructure project that delivers maximum benefit at minimum cost, this is it.
Metro Manila is ready for a mobility revolution.
Let’s build the skyway that finally puts people first.
About the Author:
Dr. Jaemin Park is the Founder and Managing Partner of Heal Venture Lab, a Singapore-based venture builder focused on medtech, biotech, and health innovation across Southeast Asia. He advises investors, startups, and governments on health systems and urban infrastructure, and serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of the Philippines College of Public Health.