Traffic Congestion in Manila

How do we feel about traffic? That’s a no-brainer. We hate it. And we feel the same for its synonyms which all mean that we’re going to be late for work again, words like “gridlock” and “congestion”. Anyone who has ever visited, worked in or lived in the Philippines would know how bad the traffic jams are in the cities, particularly Quezon City, Manila and Makati. The main avenues of these cities and even the secondary roads are often congested, and the problems of traffic congestion have become so serious that the economy is affected in no small way. I, myself has also a personal experience with traffic congestion. As a student, it is difficult for me to wake up early but I had to so I won’t be trap in the traffic by going to school even if I just reside in Villamor and my school is just on Magallanes. I need to wake up early and leave the house one hour before my class start. I always ride three vehicles to go to school. First is tricycle to get to the terminal that goes to Rotonda. In the terminal, it is usually difficult to find a ride because the vehicles came from Edsa and when there is traffic, they are having a difficulty to be back soon. If that is the case, the commuters tend to form a line and wait for their turn to ride and that takes time. After waiting for so long, you’ll get your ride but you will still face the traffic in Andrews Avenue. The traffic is really worse there because there are vehicles going to Baclaran and Rotonda. The traffic is due to the jeepneys that loads and unloads passengers in anywhere they want to or even in a go signal and the vehicles that tend to change routes from time to time. That is really frustrating if you are rushing. Same thing goes when I ride the jeepney that goes to my school after getting off my second ride.

It is inarguable that the worst traffic in Philippines is in Metro Manila, the center of economic activity in the country. Daily travel in the metropolis for an ordinary commuter requires two to four hours a day.

For every minute a commuter languishes in a traffic, the longer he or she is subjected to stress and pollution, translating to higher incidences of sickness and cost of medical expenses. The longer hours lost in traffic means fewer time spent for family, rest and recreation.

Metro Manila commuters are exposed to greater air pollution and extreme doses of toxic substances that could cause many diseases— including cancer. In 2009, the Philippines had one of the highest incidences of breast cancer in Asia and several cities in Metro Manila had a much higher incidence than most cities in the country.

According to the government, 85 percent of air pollution in Metro Manila comes from vehicles in spite of PH having one of the lowest motor vehicle concentrations in Asia. In 2010, World Bank estimated that PH had only 30 motor vehicles per 1,000 people while US has 797 and Thailand 157. However, one-third of all vehicles in the Philippines are in Metro Manila.
Worsening traffic is clearly becoming one of the major economic, environmental and health concerns of Metro Manila citizens.

The worsening traffic situation in Metro Manila can be attributed to too many Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) in the metropolitan area. Public transport in Metro Manila is most commonly provided by train, bus, jeepney and taxi on main roads, and tricycle and pedicab in small roads. Transportation on the roads, specifically buses and jeepneys, are mostly responsible for the clogs along the streets which always result to traffic jams along highways and main roads, causing the transport of commuters to be delayed and their time wasted. Another means of transportation is via trains, which do not make use of roads. Among these are the LRT 1 & 2 Lines (Manila Light Rail Transit System) and the MRT Line 3 (Metrostar Express). Transportation via trains can guarantee commuters of avoiding road traffic, however there are still factors that affect its ability to transport passengers efficiently such as congestion of people and technical problems. Thus, public transportation in the Philippines does not promote effective means of transportation, due to the inefficiency of Public Utility Vehicles (PUVs) present on both the roads and tracks.

Land Transportation in Metro Manila should be improved in order to properly manage commuting problems such as traffic in the cities or congestion of commuters in trains. The inefficiency of public transportation may be solved through numerous ways, in order to solve the problems that commuters are coping up with. First solution is to regulate sorts of PUVs on the roads. According to Winston Ginez, a Regulatory Board chair, traffic among highways are mostly caused by the volume of city buses being more than double what a highway can accommodate. Adding to this is the problem of traffic along the roads which commonly involve jeepney drivers who go through risky actions just to carry as much passengers as they can. These PUVs often tend to choke up the roads, therefore causing traffic gridlocks that affect the flow of traffic in Metro Manila negatively. Furthermore, according to Andrei Medina from GMA News, “the local government of Manila is now eyeing to implement stricter road regulations on jeepneys, tricycles and pedicabs to decongest traffic in the city”. With the bus and truck ban already implemented, Mayor Joseph Estrada said that the implementation had greatly reduced traffic in Manila. He believes disciplining drivers of public utility vehicles would further benefit the city. This proposed solution may be put into action by eradicating colorums, or unauthorized motorized operations – meaning illegal PUVs, along the roads so that traffic may be reduced.

Another solution is to have a better route plan for the jeepneys and buses, and to designate terminal areas where commuters would load and unload from the said PUVs. Through this way, traffic along other roads may be lessened when there are better route plans, and this also paves a way for a more convenient route for commuters. Since jeepney and bus divers usually unload and load passengers everywhere they want to, even if they are in the middle of the streets during a go signal, they cause delay for other vehicles and instigate obstructions along the flow of traffic. The designation of terminals would be a solution for this which may progressively reduce the traffic along the roads. The former mayor of Manila, Alfredo Lim, has quite taken an action regarding this issue by abolishing illegal jeepney terminals on street corners and street intersections around the city. The planning of a better route and designation of terminal areas may be advantageous to both the commuters and other public and private vehicles since they promote a smooth flow of traffic.

The present conditions of public transportations are alleviating persistently. Traffic couldn’t be completely avoided due to the high numbers of private and public cars in the metropolis. Ongpin also said that “Traffic will become even worse the coming months and years as infrastructure, long needed and long delayed, is now commencing construction”. However, with vital measures, traffic may still be minimized by applying these solutions in order to prevent traffic clogs and jams among vehicles. In effect, the time wasted on commuting or in traffic may be allotted instead into a more economical aspect for commuters, and this would promote the growth and productivity of both the commuters and the economy.