this one landed on page 1 of PDI with a huge picture - LRT's "Bike-On-Bike-Off 
(Bike 02)" service. the LRT will now allow people with bicycles to ride the trains. we are so confused with this new service - we do totally understand what it is for, we do not see any advantage and we don't see the point.
(Bike 02)" service. the LRT will now allow people with bicycles to ride the trains. we are so confused with this new service - we do totally understand what it is for, we do not see any advantage and we don't see the point.first of all, commuters on the train with bikes will only be allowed to ride the train IF their bikes are the foldable types. commuters with regular bikes will still not be allowed to ride the train.
how many filipinos own foldable bikes? not very many. in fact we think extremely few filipinos own foldable bikes. there is a simple reason for it - foldable bikes are much more expensive than regular bikes. also, the appeal of foldable bikes is that owners can stow them inside the trunk of your car. that means the target commuters of Bike 02 are people who own cars. why would foldable bike owners park their cars someplace, remove the bike from the trunk of their cars and carry the foldable bike up to the LRT when they can just drive to their destination in the comfort of their cars?
right off, this idea says it is a totally useless service - it will cater to an extremely few number filipinos, probably less than 0.00001% of the metro manila population who own foldable bikes. and of those 0.00001% who own foldable bikes they will never use the service as it gives them no benefit and no advantage. in fact it inconveniences them as they need to carry the foldable bikes up the unforgiving stairs of the LRT from the ground to the trains.
allowing commuters who use regular bikes to ride the train may give some benefit to many of the poor who use bikes to go to their work and who use them in their work like messengers. many messengers can't afford motorcycles and use regular bikes. being able to ride the LRT with their bikes rather than bike along the treacherous Taft Avenue will be of great benefit to them as it will not only save them time, it will also keep them safe from being run-over in the streets. none of them can afford to buy foldable bikes as its cost will probably be equivalent to their salary for 3 to 5 years.
it leads you to ask a very important question --- who are the intended beneficiaries of this new service at the LRT? who are the target users?
it cannot be ordinary folks as they own only regular bikes. since they allow commuters with foldable bikes, the target seem to be the rich folks as they are the only ones who can afford to buy these types of bikes. but rich folks don't take the LRT, they have their own cars. in fact these rich folks buy foldable bikes because they want to be able to stow their bikes inside the trunk of their cars. if you own a car, you don't usually take the train, you use your car. we do not think you will find a rich folk who will buy a foldable bike just so he can take the LRT.
we are stumped! we can't figure out who the target market or target beneficiaries of this new service at the LRT. brands and companies launch new services to answer a need or to serve a target market. this one does not do any of that.
30 bike enthusiasts were on hand when this new service was launched by the LRT. the commuters, rich folks for sure, led by no less than Senator Pia Cayetano, took the train at the Araneta Center in Cubao then got off at the Legarda station in Manila. the article said the train ride took only 15 minutes versus riding the bike that will normally take them 30 minutes.
so what is the big deal with a 15 minutes of saving riding time? these 30 people are leisure bikers and health enthusiasts - saving 15 minutes of biking is not what they want to do. the point of being a leisure and health biker is to use the bike as long as you can, as often as you can. cutting biking time for these types of people is not the point for them!
the conclusion is that the LRT launched a new service, got page 1 coverage, that does not serve anyone and does not give anyone any benefit. it is a classic for tHe idiOts proMo.
you may be having a headache now at this point. this new service is probably driving you crazy. well, we have one more to drive you completely nuts. take a deep breathe -
the name of the new service is "Bike-On Bike-Off ” which is of course a play on the now famous RO-RO (Ride-On Ride-Off) service that allows people to use their cars to go from one island to the next. commuters ride their cars to barges and rides it off them on the next island.
here is what will drive you crazy. "Bike-On Bike-Off ”, the acronym for this service is actually BO-BO! hahahaha. a perfect name for a perfectly bobo service.
congrats to the LRT and the brilliant communication person who thought of this new service.
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foldable bikes cost around 1900 pesos. 3-5 years of salary? i dont think so.. surplus can even be cheaper and a lot more sturdy than off-the-shelf china bikes. practically maintenance free. a good investment for the masses. In the first place this is no advertising promo. keep off. its an advocacy and if media focuses on it, fine. 4 cars off the road at a time is good enough. 4 people from the masses away from danger is good enough for now. definitley better than just someone bantering about all things he sees. i feel sorry for you. you must be a lonely guy.
ReplyDeletethe bike on bike off program is not a marketing gimmickry or campaign of the LRT administration. It is an advocacy program between the company and foundations promoting bicycles as a means of transport. It is in no way a "promo" but a program in its initial stages.
ReplyDeleteTotally agree. What a wasted project. How about allocate a small portion of the streets for bikes to travel safely...
ReplyDelete"the BO-BO program is an advocacy promoting bicycles as a means of transport"
ReplyDeletewhy then are you encouraging people to ride the train with their bikes? to me that is promoting people to ride the train, not use bikes.
if you wish to promote the use of bikes as a means of transportation, then put up bike lanes on the streets.
how is spending money to buy bikes a good investment for the masses when they don't even earn enough to feed their children 3 times a day?
ReplyDeletesince this great BO-BO program/advocacy - how many have since taken then their foldable bikes to ride the train? has anyone been converted? did any of the masses make the investment in buying foldable bikes?
ReplyDeleteWiden your thoughts to ideal like clean air, environmental protection, exercise, and a change in lifestyle. Being stuck in traffic is a waste of time and the Bike O2 is encouraging an alternative to that.
ReplyDeleteWiden your resources too. Surplus folding bikes start at P1,800 in Malabon. Half of my trips nowadays are on the Bike O2 and a lot of guards, janitors, and common fold are surprised that the cost is this low.
I suggest that you should get our of your car and try it out. And do more research before casting judgment on an environmental project. Bimodal transportation is happening all around the world except here... I'm sure you are not aware of this. Read on bike sharing blogs and bike commuting.... you know how to read diba?
I agree with the last reply. Go to Malabon and you can find a foldable bike even cheaper than Php 1,800. those I think that commented against this program have closed minds. We should learn to take mass transport systems to help clean the environment.
ReplyDeleteGreat blog bro! hope to read more WAWAM news! :)
ReplyDeleteHI, I'm Ricky Pineda. I'm a full time bike commuter and bike commuting advocate. Saw a link to your blog on facebook.
ReplyDeleteThank you for noticing the bike-on-bike-off (bo-bo) marketing campaign of the LRTA. That marketing campaign ticked you off enough to blog about it. And you discussed issues, that to your view, are relevant.
Maybe they are true, maybe they aren't, but that bo-bo campaign got a reaction from you, enough for you to take action, to blog about it. I hope that bo-bo marketing campaign will spark something in people who saw it or see this blog. It was a campaign to promote the LRT at par with other train systems allowing bi-modal transport opportunities. I would have wanted that full sized bikes be allowed into the train system. But at the present state of affairs of the transport authorities, we're happy with them allowing folding bikes in, initially. At least bike commuting advocates have one foot in the door.
Bikes! biking! bike commute? Posible nga ba? Awww, that would never work here. bike lanes? too expensive? Filipinos too obssessed with cars? Fiipinos love traffic? They look forward to it in the morning.
I think the worst campaign is the campaign that doesn't get noticed or no spark happens at all.
What do you think?
kRx