Transportation in the Philippines covers the transportation methods within the archipelagic nation of over 7,600 islands. From a previously underdeveloped state of transportation, the government of the Philippines has been improving transportation through various direct infrastructure projects, and these include an increase in air, sea, road, and rail transportation and transport hubs.
Davao City, officially the City of Davao, is a highly urbanized city in the Davao Region, Philippines. The city has a total land area of 2,443.61 km2 (943.48 sq mi), making it the largest city in the Philippines in terms of land area. It is the third-most populous city in the Philippines after Quezon City and Manila respectively, and the most populous city in Mindanao, in Davao Region, and outside of Metro Manila. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 1,776,949 people.
A jeepney, or simply a jeep, is a type of public utility vehicle (PUV) that serves as the most popular means of public transportation in the Philippines. Known for its crowded seating and kitsch decorations, it is a cultural icon of the Philippines and has its own art, "Jeepney art". At the 1964 New York World's Fair, a Sarao jeepney was exhibited in the Philippine pavilion as a national symbol for Filipinos.
The Metro Rail Transit Line 3, also known as the MRT Line 3, MRT-3, or Metrostar Express, is a rapid transit line in Metro Manila in the Philippines. The line runs in an orbital north to south route following the alignment of Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). Despite its name, the line is more akin to a light rapid transit system owing to its tram-like rolling stock while having total grade separation and high passenger throughput. The line is officially known as the Yellow Line. Its current General Manager is Oscar Bongon.
Rail transportation in the Philippines is currently used mostly to transport passengers within Metro Manila and provinces of Laguna and Quezon, as well as a commuter service in the Bicol Region. Freight transport services once operated in the country, but these services were halted. However, there are plans to restore old freight services and build new lines. From a peak of 1,100 kilometers (680 mi), the country currently has a railway footprint of 533.14 kilometers (331.28 mi), of which only 129.85 kilometers (80.69 mi) are operational as of 2024, including all the urban rail lines. World War II, natural calamities, underspending, and neglect have all contributed to the decline of the Philippine railway network. In the 2019 Global Competitiveness Report, the Philippines has the lowest efficiency score among other Asian countries in terms of efficiency of train services, receiving a score of 2.4, and ranking 86th out of 101 countries globally. The government is currently expanding the railway network up to 1,900 kilometers (1,200 mi) by 2022 through numerous projects.
The Department of Transportation is the executive department of the Philippine government responsible for the maintenance and expansion of viable, efficient, and dependable transportation systems as effective instruments for national recovery and economic progress. It is responsible for the country's land, air, and sea communications infrastructure.
The transportation system in Metro Manila covers the road network, rail network, ferries, ports and airports located within the metropolitan Manila area. Road transportation in Metro Manila is diverse, composed of many types of private and public transport vehicles. These include taxis, buses, jeepneys, tricycles and pedicabs. In some areas, especially in Divisoria and large public markets, two-stroke motors are fitted in the pedicabs and are used for goods transport. Regardless of modernity, horse-drawn kalesas are still used in the streets of Binondo and Intramuros. Ridesharing services such as Grab also operate within Metro Manila.
The Cebu Bus Rapid Transit System is a mass transit system under construction in Cebu City, Philippines. It is expected to become the first operational bus rapid transit project in the Philippines. Only one line has been planned in detail so far, but scheme developers note the potential to develop a larger network comprising the adjacent cities of Lapu-Lapu, Mandaue, and Talisay, all of which, together with Cebu City, form part of the Cebu metropolitan area.
A multicab is a small light truck in the Philippines that is usually used as public transport. Like jeepneys, they usually have fixed routes, although there are multicabs that serve as taxicabs to take passengers where they want, as a motorized tricycle might. Aside from being a mode of mass transportation, it can also be customized for other purposes such as a pickup truck or a private van.
Beep is a reloadable contactless smart card created in 2015 to be a replacement for the magnetic card-based system in paying rail-based rapid transit transportation fares in and around Metro Manila. Beep is also used in lieu of cash in some convenience stores and other businesses. The Beep system is implemented and operated by AF Payments Incorporated, which is primarily owned by Ayala Corporation and Metro Pacific Investments Corporation.
The Metro Rail Transit Line 4 (MRT-4) is a proposed rapid transit line that would serve the Greater Manila Area of the Philippines. The 12.7 km (7.9 mi), 10-station elevated railway would connect Ortigas Center in Metro Manila and the suburban municipality of Taytay, Rizal. It would traverse along Ortigas Avenue and Manila East Road, starting at the former's junction with EDSA in Quezon City to the west until it terminates near the New Taytay Public Market to the east.
The Metro Manila Subway, formerly known as the Mega Manila Subway (MMS) is an under-construction underground rapid transit line in Metro Manila, Philippines. The 33-kilometer (21 mi) line, which will run north–south between Valenzuela, Quezon City, Pasig, Taguig, Parañaque and Pasay, consists of 17 stations between the East Valenzuela and Bicutan stations. It will become the country's second direct airport rail link after the North–South Commuter Railway, with a branch line to Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
The Philippine expressway network, also known as the High Standard Highway Network, is a controlled-access highway network managed by the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) which consists of all expressways and regional high standard highways in the Philippines.
According to a "Global Driver Satisfaction" survey conducted by the navigation app Waze in 2015, Metro Manila had the "worst traffic on Southeast Asia". Emerson Carlos, MMDA assistant general manager for operation has mentioned that in 2015, motor vehicle registrations in Metro Manila peaked at around 2.5 million.
The Public Transport Modernization Program (PTMP), formerly and still commonly referred to as the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program (PUVMP), is a program made by the Department of Transportation (DOTr) of the Philippines in 2017, with the goal of making the country's public transportation system efficient and environmentally friendly by 2020. The program calls for the phasing-out of jeepneys, buses, and other public utility vehicles (PUVs) that are at least 15 years old and replacing them with safer, more comfortable and more environmentally-friendly alternatives over the next three years. Currently, there are 220,000 jeepney units operating throughout the country. The program also calls to all PUV Drivers and Operators to join or form a Transport Cooperative.
The Parañaque Integrated Terminal Exchange is a public transport terminal in Parañaque, Metro Manila, Philippines. PITX is built and operated by Megawide Construction Corporation and the Department of Transportation (DOTr) under the Philippine government's Public-Private Partnership program.
The North–South Commuter Railway, also known as the Clark–Calamba Railway, is a 147-kilometer (91-mile) commuter rail system under construction on the island of Luzon in the Philippines. Running from New Clark City in Capas, Tarlac, to Calamba, Laguna, with 36 stations and four services, the railway is designed to improve connectivity within the Greater Manila Area and will be integrated with the railway network in the region.
The Mindanao Railway, previously known as the Trans-Mindanao High Speed Railway, is a proposed railway system in Mindanao, the southernmost major island of the Philippines. Originally proposed in 1936 as part of Manuel L. Quezon's efforts to strengthen the presence of Commonwealth government in Mindanao against the rising influence of Imperial Japan before World War II, the line was shelved. Other proposals and studies were made in the 1950s, 1990s, and the 2000s, but never materialized. The current line began development in 2018; however, construction has yet to start. It will be initially built as a single-track standard gauge system to be operated by diesel-powered rolling stock, but will have provisions for upgrading to double-track and electrification through overhead lines.
Bagong Jeep, also known as the Bagong Jeepney, is a public transport service which maintains a fleet of minibuses and vans which are characterized as jeepneys.
Since March 2023, a series of transport strikes by operators of traditional public jeepneys and minivans have been held in various cities across the Philippines to protest against the Public Utility Vehicle Modernization Program.
