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Traffic capital of the world
Philippine Daily Inquirer / 04:40 AM January 23, 2024
Coldplay’s lead vocalist Chris Martin didn’t mince words
describing the traffic gridlock his entourage endured en route
to the Philippine Arena in Bulacan for the group’s “Music of
the Spheres” world tour on Friday. “We’ve seen some traffic.
But I think you have the No. 1 in the world,” the British singer
said.
He wasn’t joking. Metro Manila is now the undisputed traffic
capital of the world, based on the latest study by TomTom, a
Dutch navigation technology company.
Home to over 13 million people, the National Capital Region
earned the dubious honor of having the worst traffic
congestion among metropolises in 2023, according to the
study that covered 387 cities and 55 countries. It was followed
by Lima, Peru; Bengaluru, India; Sapporo, Japan; and Bogota,
Colombia.
The latest index has two categories: city center and metro area,
with Metro Manila listed as No. 1 in the latter and Manila as
No. 9 in the former.
Five days stuck on the road
On average, the 2023 study found that Metro Manila motorists
spent 25 minutes and 30 seconds covering a distance of 10
kilometers last year. In terms of time lost to heavy traffic, they
suffered 117 hours — or almost five days — stuck on the road
in 2023, the study found.
This is not the first time for such shameful distinction. In
September 2019, traffic navigation app Waze found Metro
Manila to be the worst city in the world to drive in, taking 4.9
minutes to reach a full kilometer.
“With more than half of the world’s population living in urban
areas, traffic congestion and its economic, ecological and
health consequences have become a problem that needs to be
urgently addressed,” said Ralf-Peter Schäfer, TomTom’s vice
president for traffic.
“Planning the future of urban areas is essential to ongoing
traffic management,” he added.
But there’s the rub—is there such a plan in the Philippines?
P2.4 billion daily loss
In response to the TomTom index, Transportation Secretary
Jaime Bautista said road projects in progress would soon
“improve the commuter experience.”
In September, President Marcos said on his vlog: “We will do
everything [to address traffic problems], which is why we are
acquiring new trains and building new roads so that traffic will
ease and you will not have to suffer.”
Yet, four months later, the misery on metro roads has only
grown, one from which Mr. Marcos himself has been spared
by the mere privilege of his office.
On Friday, the President was among the scores who watched
Coldplay’s concert, but unlike them, he arrived and left via
presidential chopper.
A 2014 study by the Japanese International Cooperation
Agency estimated that Metro Manila’s traffic crisis was
costing the economy P2.4 billion daily in terms of vehicular
maintenance expenses and time lost. If left unaddressed, it
said, losses could climb to a staggering P6 billion a day by
2030.
Urban living nightmare
Beyond productivity costs, there’s the psychological toll on
Filipinos’ well-being, adding to the ills that make urban living
a nightmare, such as rocketing prices, rising criminality, and
noise and environmental pollution.
The government, through the Department of Transportation,
its attached agencies and the Metropolitan Manila
Development Authority, must make traffic management a top
priority.
For a start, traffic policies must be made seamless among local
governments within the metro, and the single-ticketing system
enforced fully. All construction work must be scheduled with
public convenience in mind. Any act of favoritism toward
VIPs should be punished.
Illegally parked cars should be towed and their owners fined,
and Congress must pass a law banning the purchase of new
cars without a parking space.
The government must instill discipline among drivers on the
road.
We often hear complaints about Filipinos following traffic
rules abroad but forgetting to do so upon their return. Such
lack of discipline is learned behavior that is the result of
decades of traffic mismanagement. The government must
ensure a strict, no-nonsense traffic enforcement to compel
motorists to unlearn their bad road habits.
Braess paradox
Finally, the one thing that can make the single biggest
difference is an efficient public mass transport system that puts
more people on buses, jeepneys, and trains than in private
vehicles.
Contrary to official wisdom, building more roads may actually
be counterproductive to the purpose of easing traffic. Our
urban planners will do well to read up on the Braess paradox,
a mathematical phenomenon that explains how and why
constructing more highways can ironically result in more
traffic jams. Just look at the transport systems and
infrastructures of Singapore, Tokyo, and Hong Kong.
For Metro Manila and other urban centers to be truly livable,
the best policy is to bring about the greatest good for the
greatest number — being less “car-centric” and more friendly
to commuters, cyclists, and pedestrians.