Help Rappler map out worst spots to bike and walk in Philippine cities

With a few taps on your phone, you can do something about the sad state of bike lanes and sidewalks in the Philippines

MANILA, Philippines – Are you sick and tired of virtually nonexistent bike lanes, or sidewalks full of potholes?

Do you and your loved ones have to put up with unsafe bike routes or struggle to walk beside fast trucks and cars because sidewalks in your area barely merit the name?

Turn your frustration into action. Report these spots to Rappler.

We’ll map them out, generate a data journalism story based on your reports, and relay our findings to mayors and national government agencies.

On May 12, Rappler launched its crowdsourcing initiative to improve active transport infrastructure in Philippine cities: Bike Walk PH.

The crowdsourcing works this way: We’ve created a dedicated chat room called Bike Walk PH in our app, the Rappler Communities app. The chat room will be the public repository of all your reports.

How to report:

• Download the Rappler Communities app on App Store or Play Store.
• Tap the Community tab at the bottom.
• Look for the Bike Walk PH icon:

• Send a message with the following important details:
  • Google Maps pin link of the exact spot you want to report
  • A description of what makes it a bad spot for biking or walking
  • A photo of the spot. Sending video links is okay, but please send a photo or screenshot to accompany the video links to help the Rappler team better visualize the reports on a map.

We will be accepting entries until December 31, 2024. The more reports, the more comprehensive the map we generate, the more data we can relay to local officials and the national government.

Spread the word

Spread the word and help us come up with a very detailed and actionable map. Before we visualize and publish our report, we will verify your entries.

We will only be able to map out reports of a city (or highly urbanized region like Metro Manila) if there are enough reports for that city. So if you want your city to be given the spotlight, encourage your fellow residents to send a report.

After contributing a report, stay in the Bike Walk PH chat room to receive updates on the crowdsourcing initiative. You can also check out the liveable cities chat room and the environment and science chat room for conversations and updates about active transportation.

This crowdsourcing campaign is part of Rappler’s Make Manila Liveable movement, a collaboration of journalists and communities to improve quality of life in Philippine cities, one city at a time.

With a few taps on your phone, you can do something about the sad state of bike lanes and sidewalks in the Philippines. At Rappler, we want our new app to link ordinary citizens with government leaders so we can make change happen and improve public policy.

This is an experiment in participatory journalism which we hope you can be part of. See you in the Bike Walk PH chat room! – Rappler.com