Tracking the Inland Shift of Mobility in Early Twentieth-Century Naga Throught the History of the Albert Louise Ammen Transportation Company (ALATCO)

• Main Author: Imperial, Leo Paulo
• Format: text
• Published: Archīum Ateneo 2021
• Subjects: n/a
• Online Access: https://archium.ateneo.edu/theses-dissertations/515
• Institution: Ateneo De Manila University

This thesis focuses on the reciprocal relationship between the development of infrastructure and transport motorization, and the impact of this relationship on mobility, as it manifested in the founding and success of the Albert Louise Ammen Transportation Company (ALATCO). Infrastructural improvements in the first decade of the twentieth century in Naga and the rest of Bikol, especially the construction of road networks, proved advantageous for the extensive development of motorized inland transportation. Enterprising American servicemen led by Albert Louise Ammen and his associates realized the necessity for a reliable and efficient public transport to assist in the movement of people and goods; hence, they decided to venture into a transportation business that was well-matched to the completed roads. In 1914 they founded ALATCO, the first motor bus system in the Philippines and the pioneer in Naga’s motorized public mass transport system. This study investigates the operation of the ALATCO and how it transformed the urban landscape and caused profound changes in Naga’s mobility, and restructured social life in the region.