The Move As One Coalition — a national civil society movement of more than 140 organizations and 77,000 individuals across sectors — reframed transportation as a civic issue by combining grassroots organizing with policy change in Manila and the Philippines, bringing commuters, workers and everyday users into decision-making. Launched during the nationwide disruption of COVID-19 in Manila, the Move As One Coalition has helped create safer, more dignified and more accessible transport systems across multiple modes for users and workers.
In the Philippines, just 6% of residents own cars, yet transport systems still prioritize private vehicles. Millions of low-income commuters and transport workers face unsafe, unreliable and inaccessible mobility, with limited influence over decisions that shape daily travel, livelihoods and public space.
- Convened a broad coalition of healthcare workers, labor groups, commuters, transport workers, pedestrians and persons with disabilities to advocate for urgent transport solutions as a response to the pandemic-era ban on public transportation
- Shifted the conversation around transportation performance indicators from road-building metrics alone toward quality, safety, accessibility and dignity
- Created clear, approachable communications rooted in everyday experience while maintaining a data-driven and policy-relevant framework
- Engaged decision-makers through inclusion in legislative and policy discussions
- Published research highlighting critical gaps in Manila’s transport system and the need for government action
- Elevated transport as a critical electoral issue by engaging high-profile political candidates and securing public commitments to sustainable mobility reforms
- Replicated the coalition model in Batangas, Naga and Cebu, emphasizing community-grounded advocacy
- Prioritized platforming youth advocates to create long-term institutional change and engage with Manila’s government institutions through the Young Mobility Leaders Program
- Sustained and expanded the coalition by fostering a supportive community that could mobilize quickly, plan effectively and advocate with conviction
- Helped secure $946 million in immediate transportation-related funding between 2020 and 2024
- Influenced more than $12 billion in medium-term investments in sustainable mobility, including active transport infrastructure and improved contracts for transport workers
- Improved pay and conditions for more than 88,000 transport workers by advocating for policy reforms such as service contracting
- Trained 140 Young Mobility Leaders to advance local reforms and champion inclusive transport in their communities
- Supported five grassroots initiatives through the Small Mobility Grants Program
- Secured the construction of 800+ kilometers of new protected bike lanes and upgrades to 400+ kilometers of existing lanes
- Advocated for 18 elevators to be added to six bus stations along Epifanio de los Santos Avenue (EDSA)
- Supported the rollout of modern public utility vehicle stops in Manila and Malabon with CCTV cameras, shelters and bollards for commuter safety
- Championed exclusive public utility vehicle lanes, most notably the 28-kilometer EDSA Carousel with 24 stations, easing congestion and emissions along the country’s busiest thoroughfare
