Ira Cruz

Three car-free Sundays, each with a different vibe ✨

📍Marikina Car-Free Sundays | Ayala Car-Free Sunday | Kalye Escolta Pedestrian Sunday

People are winning today 🥹

My favorite bike commuting sensory experience: The sweet smell of chocolate as I pass this segment of EDSA.

For better or for worse, I love the uncontrolled, people-led, and sensory-overload that is Metro Manila. Yes, tough to see through it all but it’s there ✨ not to romanticize; instead, know that, as a metropolis, we can offer a vibe that is uniquely us!

Marikina brings a different flavor to car-free streets: City-sponsored balance bikes, street and trunk pop-ups, free water, bike parking and toilets + bike community support ✨

🫡 Marikina 🤝 Happy Pedal Project 🩷🩵💛

Context: The first photo was taken in 2019 at Rappler’s Social Good Summit. Back then, we had just filed the Commuter Bill of Rights/ Magna Carta of Commuters at the Senate and at the House - what we felt, at that time, was a massive step to starting conversations on the importance of mobility.

It’s one of those lines: If I told my 2019 self that by 2025 mobility would be central to discussions and would actively be participated in by civil society, academe, government, private sector - I wouldn’t believe myself.

But here we are - and that’s really worth something ✨

WHEW😅 It’s been an intense 9mos! Taking a moment now to thank everyone that’s been part of the Philippine Mobility Series + the Philippine Mobility Summit. It’s both the fulfillment of a dream & the start of a dream to start chipping away at our mobility issues. Cheers, friends!

Correction: linktr.ee/PhilippineMobilitySummit

Final push for @altmobilityph.bsky.social & DOTr’s Philippine Mobility Summit.

🚌 Pre-summit tour tomorrow; 🟢Philippine Mobility Summit on Monday. Visit bit.ly/PhilippineMobilitySummit for details

Thanks to Grab, Ayala, The Asia Foundation, Ayala Land, & the Move As One Coalition

The other thing we need to be talking about: In his statement, DOH Sec. Ted said 35 Filipinos die each day due to road crashes. Thankful to Jean Todt and Mikee Cojuangco for lending their voices to highlight the urgency to protect road users - esp. the most vulnerable.

Jean Todt, UN Special Envoy for Road Safety put it best: Road crashes is a crisis that hides in plain sight.

It’s road safety all-week: Meeting with several partners: international orgs, civil society, and government, to provide a platform for collaboration.

#APRSC2025

Two years of the largest car-free in the country to-date.

Congrats, Make It Makati!

Alleyways are Metro Manila’s hidden (gem, lol) backbone - an overlooked network that can improve mobility and an untapped opportunity for placemaking ✨

🫩

A preview of what’s to come at the Philippine Mobility Summit with @jacquemanabat.bsky.social and EJ Obiena

Watch the full reel: www.instagram.com/reel/DN7tmVQ...

Visit @altmobilityph.bsky.social for more details.

A decade ago, we could have never imagined the government saying “move many commuters as possible” “carry more passengers, discourage the use of single passenger vehicles” It seems we’re finally turning a corner ✨

www.abs-cbn.com/news/busines...

Now, it’s almost impossible to unsee it.

👀 How do your usual terminals fare?

Full Story: www.philstar.com/lifestyle/20...

Expert bats for 'gender dimension’ in urban spaces Urban planners must consider the “gender dimension” to make public spaces more inclusive and allow better use of infrastructures designed to make users move comfortably, according to a US-...

✨ Always something new from Benjie - from popular transport to evolution in planning. I like this in particular: in most cities, public transport go to employment areas and serves particular times, but that’s not how women and caregivers move.

www.philstar.com/lifestyle/20...

ngl, current state: Everything hurts 😅

Initial thoughts biking for the first time on the East Service Road: Well, it’s a direct route and generally flat but that risk-benefit ratio 😅

🌧️ One test of transport system resilience: from our sidewalks to our roads, and even rail.

The view from the sofa of this coffee shop never gets old ✨ Transit things 😉

Closing the Philippine Mobility Series tackling key questions: How did we get here + how do we fund transport projects? Prep work for the Philippine Mobility Summit, September 15th.

🫡 Paulo Alcazaren, and Lucas Mangulabnan of DOTr & Frocks Roque of ULI.

mobility things ✨

Today, listened to DOTr’s infrastructure priorities in the next three years. Definitely excited to see how this all plays out at @altmobilityph.bsky.social’s Philippine Mobility Summit in 🗓️ September.

Thanks to Grab, MBC, Move As One, and GIZ.

Tip your delivery riders well; they deserve it 🥺

In a moment of frustration, I ranted to @benjiedlp.bsky.social how mobility issues have remained the same. He said, “yeah - there seems to be a 10, 10 pattern: 10 years of advocacy, 10 years of speedy progress.” 7 years into the mobility advocacy, 👀 I can’t wait for the coming 3 years

Bus rapid transit as key vs Metro Manila transport woes tackled in forum The Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) system, which is being developed in the key cities of Cebu and Davao, holds the potential of helping address the mass transportation shortage and perennial traffic woes in ...

The government needs to balance its investment in rail services/middle miles with feeder services/first-last miles to get people from their homes to different parts of the city; BRT is the quick win we need to achieve that + a way forward for PUVMP.

www.philstar.com/nation/2025/...

The goal: EDSA Busway 🚌 —> BRT🥇

The good news: Our busway has the foundation for an effective mass road-based public transport where everyone wins: More capacity + transit corridors and more income for the industry for less government investment.

It’s possible via Give2Asia and Every .org

Click here: www.angatbuhay.ph/ab-linkages/...

Since last night, close to 4,000 hot meals were immediately sent to Marikina’s evacuation centers through Grab 🤝 Angat Buhay

If you want to continue helping, Angat Buhay is accepting donations though these official channels: x.com/angatbuhay_p...