MMDA offers ‘shower rooms’ for bikers en route to work

REFRESHING STOPOVER Cyclists check out the shower rooms that the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority inaugurated on Tuesday in the agency’s Motorcycle Riding Academy at the corner of Meralco and Julia Vargas avenues in Pasig City. The facilities are free to use for bikers going to work and who wish to freshen up before arriving at their offices. —PHOTOS BY GRIG C. MONTEGRANDE

It’s less stressful for the body to take a bath later in the day, as some Instagram posts about health suggest.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) on Tuesday inaugurated four “bike-to-work end-of-trip” shower rooms in Pasig City.

This is to provide cyclists a “comfortable, inclusive and accessible” changing space when commuting from their homes to their workplace.

The new facilities at the MMDA Motorcycle Riding Academy consist of a shower room each for men and women and two more for “all genders,” as well as secure bike racks for cyclists.

The shower rooms are free for use, but commuting bikers are required to register upon entry for their security.

Cleaning and security personnel are also in place to ensure the maintenance of the facilities, the MMDA said.

More planned

The agency is even considering the possibility of operating the shower rooms 24/7 “to better serve and accommodate more cyclists.”

“Our goal here is simple—to protect the welfare of cyclists,” the MMDA’s sports-minded general manager, Nicolas Torre III, said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said this initiative should serve as an “effective and concrete step toward a more bike-friendly metropolis.”

MMDA Chair Romando Artes agrees. He said in the same statement that the project seeks to promote the use of sustainable transportation modes.

Biking group’s support

“You can expect that we will continue to place similar facilities all over Metro Manila in order to help our countrymen who use bicycles, especially those going to their work and office,” Artes said.

Cyclists have also called for wider bike lanes for their safety—such as on Edsa, where around 1,700 people use the beltway’s bike lane daily, according to the MMDA.

But biking group Siklista Pilipino has expressed support for the agency’s new program.

“I would like to thank the MMDA for recognizing cyclists. I hope a lot of private companies would follow the example of MMDA and also build bike-friendly facilities,” the group’s “cycling representative,” Pio Fortuno Jr., said in the agency’s statement.