I know that you will agree with me that the traffic situation in Metro Manila is one of the biggest problems of our country. Employees arrive late at work. They will then arrive at home even later which lessens quality time with their families. Both of which result in a decline in their engagement at work which then translate to a decrease in profit of the business that they belong to. Aside from the horrible traffic, commuters also need to brave our public transportation system, including the long queues and consistent delays. Some may see that buying a car will solve this problem. But in reality, more cars in the road only mean more congested roads. Some people may say that this is such a trivial issue, but the horrible traffic in Metro Manila plays a major role in halting the growth of our economy.
Aside from that, the increasing number of cars in our roads is definitely not good to our health. With our cities getting more polluted, we see an increase in cases of respiratory diseases. And more importantly, it’s not doing any good to our environment. Carbon monoxide emission is one of the contributors of climate change. Losing more time and money each day, having kids with weaker immune system and the recent typhoons getting stronger each year due to climate change, I firmly believe that each one of us has to do something to address these issues.
I stayed in the US for three months. And one thing I noticed during my stay there is that even my big bosses go to work riding their bicycles! I even had a colleague living in a nearby state who bikes his way to the office every single day. With our worsening problems with traffic, pollution and climate change, I think it’s about time for our country to adapt this habit – the constant use of bicycles.
Mother Nature will surely be glad. We not only reduce our gas emissions, we also get to conserve our resources. Riding a bicycle is also cheaper. You don’t need to gas up and spend a fortune on car maintenance. And last but not the least, the use of bicycle promotes a healthier lifestyle! How many of us spend for gym memberships without realizing that we can commute and exercise at the same time? Iya Villania-Arellano, the celebrity endorser of Taiwan Excellence in the Philippines, happens to bike, too. Have you seen how fit she is?
The pessimists are probably saying, “Yeah, right! It’s easier said than done.” I know that this will be a big debate given that our roads are not conducive to bikers. But over the years, I have seen the increase in people’s interest when it comes with the use of bicycles. My Facebook and Instagram feeds are slowly being filled with photos of my friends in helmet with bicycles in the background. If our government sees the clamor of people switching to bicycles, then things might probably start to change for the better.
TAITRA, a non-profit, semi-governmental trade promotion organization in Taiwan, is one of the organizers that launched the Taiwan Excellence campaign here in the Philippines. As mentioned from my previous post, this campaign aims to introduce the various Taiwan-based brands of high quality.
To encourage Filipinos to ride bicycles, Taiwan Excellence introduces these three brands - Strida, Tern, and Pacific, all of which offer foldable bicycles which are convenient for users to bring and carry wherever they go!
Check out the following websites, and you’ll definitely fall in love with these cute bicycles. But don’t underestimate these cuties. These are lightweight but still sturdy for everyday use.
http://www.strida.com/en/main/
http://www.ternbicycles.com/
http://www.pacific-cycles.com/
I am actually crushing over how adorable these bicycles are. I have been bugging my husband for the longest time for us to get matching bicycles. But since we still haven’t moved in to our own house, he keeps on insisting that storage will be a problem for us. Aha! Now, he doesn’t have an excuse! :p Seriously though, I think it’s about time that we pedal into a cleaner and greener Philippines – literally and figuratively! =)
I think it's time for me to try biking! Nakakasexy na, environmental pa! :) And ang cute nga ng foldable bikes. Hihihihi!
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