Manila needs Dutch transport thinking, not a Dutch template

The Netherlands’ success with micromobility rests on decades of coordinated investment, enforcement, and cultural reinforcement — principles that matter more than copying technical designs. Metro Manila’s congestion problem is fundamentally one of geometry and vehicle typology: streets are over-allocated to large single-occupant vehicles used for short errands. Recent regulatory actions in Metro Manila to tighten controls on e-trikes and other light electric vehicles risk removing some of the most practical near-term options for accessible, low-cost mobility, especially for people with limited mobility. Provincial Philippine cities provide counterexamples where micromobility has been matched to scale and governance: Marikina’s sustained protected lanes and enforcement; Iloilo’s integration of protected lanes with public space; Dumaguete’s compact urban form that favors small vehicles; and Naga’s deliberate policy continuity. Those cases show durable change comes from aligning rules, enforcement, and modest infrastructure investments to local conditions rather than transplanting entire northern European templates. Complementing these policy lessons, private-sector deployments are beginning to fill functional gaps: a major ride‑hailing operator, in partnership with an Aboitiz Group vehicle brand and a local remittance/lending firm, has started routine deployments of electrified motorcycles as operational fleet vehicles rather than limited pilots. That commercial approach addresses previous supply‑chain and aftersales weaknesses and uses financing to lower up‑front costs for drivers, making electrified two‑wheelers economically sensible in high‑utilization contexts. These electrified motorcycles present a clearer, immediate pathway to lower urban emissions than policies focused solely on private cars, but scaling will depend on regulators providing stable classifications and on maintaining servicing, financing repayment rates, and driver retention. A pragmatic policy for Metro Manila would be layered and vehicle‑specific: allow electrified motorcycles to consolidate high‑utilization commercial trips, enable weather‑protected micro‑EVs and regulated e‑trikes to serve inclusive last‑mile and accessibility niches, and reserve high‑capacity lanes and mass transit for trunk movements. Success requires recalibrating speed limits, vehicle‑size standards, enforcement regimes, and funding priorities so that different vehicle types can safely occupy appropriate street space. Measurable indicators — fleet size, utilization rates, average daily distance, servicing uptime, and repayment/default rates on finance plans — should guide scale decisions. Without these shifts, emergency lane measures and temporary pilot projects will remain fragile, and oversized vehicles will continue to define Manila’s urban form and mobility outcomes.