By Joan OrendainInquirer
Posted date: February 14, 2007
MANILA, Philippines -- Strike a win for commuters -- the Pasig River Ferry Service is coming on line on Wednesday with two boats, cutting travel time for them by as much as 80 percent. Fares, too, will cost at least a third less -- another win.
The launch of the service will be conducted by President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo herself. Ferry Passenger No. 1 will sail down the Pasig in air-conditioned comfort in a twin-hulled catamaran 24.5 meters long by 7 meters wide.
Catamarans are more stable than single-hulls, provide a wider deck, and are more comfortable. Each vessel has a capacity of 152 passengers. Two earth-friendly diesel engines of 355 horsepower each will run at an average operating speed of 10 knots.
Apart from commuters receiving the welcome addition to their range of transport choices, the Mutya ng (Sweetheart of the) Pasig also would be pleased. A figure of legend attached to the romance of the Philippines’ first highway, passengers may view her beauty out of panoramic windows -- where areas are relatively unspoiled.
Five of 10 terminals along the Pasig have been built and are ready for operation. These stations are located at the Escolta, Santa Ana, Guadalupe, Hulo and Lambingan. The average distance from a jeepney, bus or Metro Rail Transit (MRT) line is about 300 meters.
The service will please early birds, operating from 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m., as well to allow commuters to catch last-hour rides on the MRT. Total travel time includes a three-minute stop at each station.
Initial routes, with other routes to be announced later, are: Link / Node Ferry Travel Time Escolta - Sta. Ana 20 minutes Sta. Ana - Guadalupe 15 minutes Guadalupe - Hulo 13 minutes Hulo - Lambingan 7 minutes Lambingan - Sta. Ana 3 minutes
The ferryboat operator will charge a minimum rate of P25 per short route inclusive of the station fee.
For longer routes, the rate will be P35 to P45.
More boats coming
By the end of February, two more boats will come into service, with boats No. 5 and 6 ready by March 31. RFID (radio frequency identification) cards for multiple journeys, similar to an e-pass, are available at ticketing booths to avoid long queues.
Demonstrating that public and private sector partnerships can work, the government has provided the infrastructure: The ferry stations, security and safety of navigation, and the improvement and protection of the environment. The three agencies involved are the
Department of Transportation and Communications, the Metro Manila Development Authority, and the Pasig River Rehabilitation Commission.
From the private sector, Nautical Transport Service Inc. built, owns, and will operate the Philippine-made ferryboats. The company has been granted a five-year license by Marina or the Maritime Industry Authority, to run the service.
Two previous attempts by the private sector to provide ferry transport did not succeed because of the government’s failure to provide stipulated passenger terminals.
Private-public partnership
Visually, the situation is expected to improve with the relocation of squatters from both banks of the river who are the main cause of the river’s pollution. In their stead, linear parks are being constructed, with several already built and enjoyed by their neighborhoods.
“Scientific tests show that there is life again on the Pasig River. The fish are back, and salinity has improved a lot,” says Undersecretary Francisco Bravo of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources, which is charged with restoring the river.
Chairman of the Pasig River Ferry Project is Agustin Bengzon, who initiated the plan for the ferry service when he was DoTC undersecretary. Although he has since been appointed by Ms Arroyo to the presidency of NDC Maritime Leasing Corp., Bengzon was nevertheless retained by Transportation Secretary Leandro Mendoza to continue to head the project and see it to completion.
“The project is a model of a public-private partnership for a mass transport system with no government subsidy. The government provides the infrastructure, and the private sector provides and operates the ferryboats,” Bengzon says.
The Metro Manila Development Authority represented by Undersecretary Cesar Lacuna is part of the joint effort coordinating the project in tandem with the DoTC and the PRRC. Also on the team is Unilever’s General Manager for Corporate Development Chito Macapagal, representing the private sector. Unilever has long been a keen supporter of a clean Pasig River.
Life vests
In compliance with safety requirements imposed by Marina that life vests provided should number 10 percent more than the maximum passenger capacity, the ferry service operator has provided each vessel with 160 life jackets. A small coffee and snack bar on board will be operated by a concessionaire.
Costs of building the all-weather ferry stations have been sourced from an Asian Development Bank loan with counterpart funds from the Philippine government earmarked for the rehabilitation of the Pasig River and its environs. Amenities include clean toilets, telephone booths, vending machines and a lift for disabled passengers.
Both the ADB and the government will be fully paid back by station fees collected by the ferry service’s operator.
4 more stations
When the project is completed later this year, in addition to the 10 terminals stretching from Plaza Mexico at the Pasig River’s mouth, there will be four more stations along the Marikina River all the way to Santa Elena.
“The feasibility to replicate the Pasig River Ferry Service in other major river systems in the country such as the Dagupan and Cagayan Rivers, should also be considered and studied,” Bengzon says.
This project may well serve as a template for riverine transport, as in days of yore.
Source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/inquirerheadlines/nation/view_article.php?article_id=49361
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
Hapinoy Fuses CSR and Social Entrepreneurship
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| Written by Lou Janssen Dangzalan | |
| Friday, 21 September 2007 | |
 A chain of sari-sari stories linked to micro-finance institutions gains access to cheaper goods and management training It all started with conversation, over coffee, among friends last January. Their ideas have since snowballed into a program that fuses microfinance, sustainable entrepreneurship, and corporate social responsibility. The project, dubbed as “Hapinoy,” aims to transform the sari-sari stores supported by microfinance institutions (MFI) into a network or chain of retail stores which have access to inexpensive goods and management training. Speaking before the launch of the project in July, Microventures’ Paolo Benigno Aquino said that Hapinoy aims to optimize the operations of partner micro-financed sari-sari stores. Led by Microventures Incorporated, a for-profit corporation that aims to uplift the poor through sustainable entrepreneurship, the group has since tapped the Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (CARD), an MFI, which has thousands of members. Through CARD, Hapinoy has been able to expand its network to 1100 stores in the Southern Luzon area. What Microventures does is to encourage the MFI affiliated sari-sari store owners to sign up with Hapinoy for a token fee. In return they gain access to cheaper goods allowing them to optimize their profit margins. The cheap manufactured goods are in turn delivered by partner manufacturing companies—such as Smart, Rebisco, Century Tuna, and Oishi—to the assigned lead stores in the region. These lead stores serve as the hub for each area’s distribution.
Aquino quickly dispelled worries about the possibility that non-partner companies and their competing products will not be able to join the network. He argued that while they may have partnered with these groups, Hapinoy is open to other products. Apart from the benefits that an efficient supply line delivers, the micro-entrepreneurs are trained through the network. The sari-sari store owners meet regularly where they also settle their accounts with the MFIs. Through the sariskwela, a makeshift training center, they are honed in basic management skills, optimization of their inventories, and the like. According to Aquino, they project to reach 100,000 stores by the end of 2009. By then, their network will have reached its optimal size. Source: http://www.newsbreak.com.ph/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3738&Itemid=88889053 |
The companies deliver the goods to the assigned lead stores in the different areas, enabling them to target the bottom of the pyramid at the same time being cost effective. This is one of the main selling points of the partnership with companies, according to Aquino. While the companies’ market is broadened and deepened, they are able to engage in socially responsible programs.
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