(Westenders prime minister RogerTango recently visited Manila and prepared this dispatch on the scooter scene there)
One of Asia's great cities, Manila provides an excellent opportunity to observe how other cultures approach the transportation question. Manila is a fascinating city of 11 million, and has much to offer the traveler. From the cosmopolitan central business district of Makati City to the old-world charm of Intramuros, Manila has something for everyone, whether they seek excellent art, cuisine, or historical sites to visit.
As a city with one of the highest population densities in the world, getting around can be a bit of a challenge. All manner of vehicles, from large trucks to horse-drawn calesas vie for right of way on Manila's streets. And yet despite the seeming chaos of this mechanical maelstrom, it all works! During the time of our visit, your humble correspondent observed very few accidents.
In the heavy traffic of Manila, the motorbike and scooter are definitely at an advantage. When the flow of traffic slows to a crawl, the small motorcycles and scooters filter to the front of the vehicular scrum like mice through a woodpile! It is no surprise that motorbikes are the vehicle of choice for delivery in the City, and in Manila, everybody delivers, even McDonalds! The delivery motorbike with it's outsized cargo box on the back is a ubiquitous sight here. Particularly noteworthy for us Vespa enthusiasts are the machines used by the Yellow Cab Pizza Company. The YCPCo. operates a fleet of bright yellow P-series scooters decked out in checkerboard trim. These scoots are LML 'Star' scooters, Indian-made clones of the Vespa P-series scooter (here in the US they are known as the Genuine Scooter Company 'Stella' scooter. They appear to be built more to suit the rugged needs of this part of the world, eschewing modern touches like front disc brakes in favor of rugged, easily maintained drum brakes front & rear. I had a chance to visit with some of their riders while they were taking a break in front of one of YCPCo's pizzerias one evening, and they all were very happy with their mounts, and enjoyed the fun of riding a manual shift scooter on Manila's busy streets.
But alas, these would be the only Vespas seen on this trip. Otherwise, not a single vintage or modern Vespa was seen the whole time we were there. I did drive by a Vespa dealership, but didn't have time to stop in. There is an enthusiastic Vespa community in Manila, as the success of Manila's annual scooter rally, Vespa Attack, attests. I had hoped to connect with Edmund V., author of the excellent blog Vespinoy, but was not able to fit it into the schedule. I would've liked to have asked him just where all the Vespas were hiding! All I can figure is that Vespas are owned pretty much exclusively by enthusiasts who ride them for recreation, and other makes are favored for more workaday pursuits.
The two wheel scene in Manila is wholly dominated by fairly small-displacement (200cc and less) Asian-made small motorcycles and scooters. The always-resourceful Filipinos make a very practical small taxi by mating a motorcycle to a custom-made sidecar. These nifty little machines provide economical transportation all over the city and in the surrounding countryside. Particularly noteworthy are the versions seen outside the metropolitan area. Like their big cousins, the Jeepneys, these diminutive rigs are turned into a unique form of folk art by their owner/operators; a sort of kinetic sculpture, if you will. Apparently in the city they are prohibited from being too shiny, lest headlight beams reflected off them dazzle the other drivers at night. They are under no such restriction outside the city, as you can see by this example here:
As far as scooters are concerned, one really sees no vintage machines, and not even any modern twist-and-gos with retro styling. All the scooters seen sported contemporary styling. Probably the single most popular machine was the Honda Wave 125. This well-built machine blurs the distinctions separating motorcycle from scooter. Like a motorcycle, the Wave 125 has large diameter wheels, exposed chain drive and styling cues evocative of larger 'sport bikes' here in the USA. On the other hand, they also have at least a semi-stepthrough body style, as well as the legshield and engine-enclosing bodywork one expects in a scooter. There is no doubting their excellent performance, however, when one watches swarms of them darting through city traffic with ease! These machines are clearly well-made, reliable, and economical, and may well become quite popular here; gas prices won't stay low forever, you know!
All in all, it was a fascinating trip, and a wonderful opportunity to see how another culture approaches the challenge of meeting transportation needs in the urban environment. Americans can learn a lot from other cultures if they choose to go out there and look and listen. Everyone should try to get out and see as much of the world as their time and resources allow; a stamp-filled passport is truly evidence of a life well-lived!
