DOTr asks Google to include bike lanes for its navigation map app

MANILA, Philippines—The Department of Transportation (DOTr) has asked tech giant Google to include the country’s bike lane routes in the dashboard of its real-time navigation app Google Maps in an initiative to assist cyclists.

“We have asked Google to consider this suggestion [as] top priority considering the increasing number of Filipino cyclists,” Transportation Secretary Arthur Tugade said in an emailed statement on Thursday.

He said this is a “good innovation” for Google Maps, especially now since many Filipinos are using bikes as a primary mode of transportation.

Tugade said he is sure that Google will pursue the agency’s request, after noting that the latter is a supporter of active transport.

“We are confident that we can win their support on this,” he added.

The DOTr has completed a 500-kilometer bike lane network in metropolitan cities across the entire country. The project, funded under the Bayanihan to Recover as One Act, covers Metro Manila, Metro Cebu, and Metro Davao.

According to the department, bike lanes consist of “pavement markings, physical separators, solar-powered road studs, thermoplastic paints, road signages, and bike racks.”

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JPV