PG Ferry Transport Solution

Assessment of the Situation of Services Presently Available vis a vis Current and Future Requirements

In the latter part of 2018 and the 1^st Qtr. of 2019 there has been a flood of complaints from the traveling public in respect of the ferry services plying the Batangas-Puerto Galera route. The vast majority of travelers on this route are either international or domestic tourists heading for the many beach hotels and resorts that are the primary source of revenue for both the Municipality and residents of Puerto Galera.

Many of these tourist arrivals are on long weekend or short stay visits and are therefore particularly sensitive to the long delays that they are currently experiencing due to inadequate availability of passenger ferries. In the way of the modern world, dissatisfied visitors are much given to expressing their complaints through social media. These expressions of discontent are in turn, leading to a significant downturn in the number of visitor arrivals and a consequent loss of revenues for the municipality and its residents.

This document is intended to offer some insight into the requirements of serving the particular type of visitor traffic experienced on the Batangas-Puerto Galera route together with some suggestions for actions that might be taken to improve the situation to the benefit of all concerned.

Visitor Numbers

The chart below represents the monthly profile of monthly tourist arrivals based on an overall number of arrivals for recent years of 270,000. It should be noted that this provides an aggregate number 540,000 of passenger trips per year:

From the above data and anecdotal information from ferry operators, the following can be derived:

• For the high season months, there are approximately 25,000 to 30,000 arrivals per month while low season months attract roughly half of that number.
• 30,000 visitors per month, however, do not translate into 1,000 per day.
• Anecdotal information from the ferry operators advises that a large proportion of incoming tourists arrive on Friday and Saturday morning and depart on Sunday afternoon.
• For extreme peak periods such as Holy Week and Christmas, there is a surge of passengers from Batangas to Puerto on Maundy Thursday or the first day of the declared holiday with a corresponding surge of returning passengers on the last day of the holiday.

From all of the above we would conclude that adequate provision should be made for approximately the following numbers of incoming passengers:

• First / second days extreme peak periods – 6,000 travelers per day
• Weekdays extreme peak season period – 2,000 travelers per day
• Friday / Saturday / Sunday peak season period – 2,000 travelers per day
• Weekdays peak season period – 1,000 travelers per day
• Friday / Saturday / Sunday low season period -1,000 travelers per day
• Weekdays low season period – 500 travelers per day
• In addition to the above the schedule for the incoming trips Batangas – Puerto Galera should be weighted towards mornings whilst the return trips should be weighted to the afternoons and evenings.

Vessels Currently in Service

Throughout the second half of 2018 and the 1^st Qtr. of 2019 various vessels have come and gone from the list of those operating the Batangas-Puerto Galera route. At the end of March 2019 however, the following eight vessels seem to be in function:

• Batangas to Balatero = 3 RORO and 2 fast craft
• Batangas to Muelle = 3 fast craft.
• Typically RORO vessels make the crossing in one and a half to two hours. Of the 5 fast craft vessels making the crossing, three of them take approximately one and a half hours while the remaining two manage the crossing in under one hour.

Observations on these craft:

• At this time there seems to be no data available in respect of how many vehicles are actually transported the 3 RORO craft plying the route. It would seem probable however that there is insufficient vehicle traffic to justify 3 RORO vessels.
• The RORO vessels currently in use are inherently inappropriate for large volumes of foot passenger traffic.
  • Passengers have to board via the boat deck.
  • Stair access to the passenger deck(s) is narrow, steep and unsuitable for elderly passengers, passengers with young children or with larger items of baggage.
• Only one of the ‘fast craft’ currently plying the route is properly entitled to the use of the title. The 3 crossing via Muelle pier take as long as the RORO vessels and would, therefore, more properly be described as ‘passenger ferries’.

As noted above, the vast majority of travelers on the Batangas-Puerto Galera route are foreign or domestic tourists. That part of their trip which covers the crossing from Batangas to Puerto Galera should not be viewed by travelers as an endurance exercise to be tolerated but rather as a pleasurable part of their visit.

To that end many improvements could be made to ease the processing of incoming passengers through Batangas, Balatero and Muelle piers, to wit:

• Shipping lines should be mandated to implement advance ticketing and/or online booking to the general public (themselves or in partnership with third parties). This is not only for the convenience of travelers, but also to put an end to the current corrupt practice where some shipping lines provide advance bookings to the guests of their preferred resorts or tour agencies, but not to the general public or other resorts.
• Batangas and Puerto Galera harbor management should stop the barkers from misdirecting the tourists. Numerous reports of barkers steering people away from Ferry Company towards a competitor, engaging in clear deceptive acts.
• Management need to have an up to date electronic board in the ticketing area showing the actual expected departing time of the boats so that people can make a proper choice.
• Management must clean up Batangas and Puerto Galera harbor from ticket scalpers and barkers who harass and scam passengers.
• A system must be established whereby the terminal fee and the EUF can be incorporated in the ferry tickets so that only one queue shall ensue at the pier.

In respect of ferry services reasonable objectives these might be defined as follows:

• Ferry schedules shall be convenient to the travel times and expectations of the traveling public. If there is a schedule published then it is essential for passengers and especially tourists to have reasonable confidence they can rely on it.
• That embarking and disembarking from ferries is not fraught with hazards.
• Ferries themselves are safe with good quality safety equipment including life rafts and life belts.
• Seating is comfortable with adequate legroom and aisles to allow movement around the vessels
• Toilet facilities should be accessible, clean, functioning and provisioned with handwashing facilities.

Conclusions / Recommendations

Conclusions:

A number of conclusions can be reliably drawn from the information available and in part detailed above, as follows:

• It is evident that the volume of the passenger and vehicle traffic making the Batangas-Puerto Galera crossing fluctuates greatly, not only through the seasons of the year but also through the days of the week and the hours of the day.
• For that reason alone it is difficult for ferry operators to provide the type and frequency of service that is best suited to the passengers’ requirements.
• That the current array of vessels making the Batangas-Puerto Galera crossing are poorly suited to satisfying passenger demand and expectations.
• That various aspects of the crossing over and above the ferries themselves, namely the conditions, ticketing and traffic management practices at Batangas pier, greatly contribute to traveler dissatisfaction.
• Consequently, travelers are spreading the news of the various unpleasant experiences that they have endured in making the Batangas-Puerto Galera crossing through social media and that the spreading of the reports of these experiences is having an adverse effect on all businesses and stakeholders within Puerto Galera.
• In addition we would note that the success of the Seaplane services currently plying the Manila-Puerto Galera route strongly suggests that some people are willing to pay more for well scheduled, fast and convenient travel.

Recommendations:

Data Collection:

• More detailed data should be collected in respect to arrivals. Currently, the most accurate and easily collated data is available from the Municipality through the collection of EUF fees. We would suggest that this information is entered into a database which includes Port of arrival as well as the date and time of arrival (am / pm at least). From this information, reports can be generated that will allow the timeline profile of arrivals to be mapped and this, in turn, will allow better scheduling of ferry services.
• Similar information can be collected for vehicle arrivals to allow scheduling of RORO vessels.
• Making this information available to ferry operators would assist them in rationalizing their schedules to best effect, both for their own costs and passenger satisfaction.

Vessels:

• Vessels currently plying the route are clearly not well aligned with the needs of the traveling public therefore the various Government agencies, DOT, Marina, PPA and LGU might be encouraged to look more closely at the criteria applied to licensing vessels plying the route.
• Criteria applicable to these craft might include: – fast craft (crossing time less than 1 hour), regular passenger ferry (crossing time more than 1 hour but less than 2 hours) and Ro Ro vessels.
• Given the success of Seaplane services an entirely new category of fast ‘water taxi’ service might be considered.
• Clearly a passenger travel cost via Seaplane is considerably higher than by sea however, the relevant Government Agencies might wish to consider allowing additional categories of ticket pricing for superior services. These should include on-line bookings, strict adherence to schedule and higher levels of passenger comfort.

Future Traffic:

With the advent of the SLEX and Star Tollway it was commonly voiced by incoming tourists that it was easier and more convenient to travel to Puerto Galera than most of the beach resorts to be found in Batangas or North of Manila.

In recent times that advantage that Puerto Galera has held has been lost and it is very evident that, at this point in time, the single most significant constraint to the growth of tourist traffic are the shortcomings of the existing travel arrangement s on the Batangas – Puerto Galera route.

Improving these services will inevitably lead to additional numbers of tourists and therefore any upgrades made to those services should be sufficiently flexible to accommodate increased tourist arrivals in line with DOT forecasts.

Compiled By: Emmanuel Lineses
President, Puerto Galera Tourism Council