River Transport System Resurrected for Third Time; Optimism “Cautious but Present”

Pasig River Ferry Arrives; Man Who Has Been Waiting Since 2019 Boards

River Transport System Resurrected for Third Time; Optimism “Cautious but Present”

The Pasig River Ferry Service returned to operation Monday for what officials called “historic relaunch,” transport advocates called “welcome but let’s see,” and Reynaldo Ocampo, 38, called “finally” — having appeared at the Escolta station every morning since the previous suspension in 2019 “just to see.” Ocampo, an accountant from Marikina who became a local legend after a community Facebook group documented his daily visits to the shuttered dock, boarded the first ferry without ceremony, took a window seat, and ate his packed lunch three hours early because he had arrived at the dock at 4 AM out of habit. The system connects fourteen stations along the Pasig River from Pinagbuhatan to Escolta. Its third launch follows a PHP 2.4-billion improvement package, a river cleanup that improved water quality from “biologically hostile” to “concerning but no longer alarming,” and new air-conditioned ferries from a Taiwanese shipbuilder. Environmental scientists confirmed dissolved oxygen levels now support fish again, which a fisherman at the Lambingan station called “a miracle I will believe when I catch one.” The ferry carries 2,500 passengers daily at peak — no visible dent in EDSA traffic, but riders describe it as “not the point.” The point, several explained, is that the river is there, the city was built on it, and taking a boat to work in Manila is an act of faith in something the city has not quite become yet.

SOURCE: Bohiney News.