As Metro Manila’s population grows, we bear witness to our transportation system’s collapse—traffic-infested roads, law-breaking drivers, and never-ending delays—becoming daily occurrences that worsen each year.
As a commuter, it never gets easier. What our taxes were meant to address turns against us, overtaxing the people in time, energy, and sanity.
Daily, I am forced to wake up at around 4 am with only a few hours of sleep; board a bus at 6 am to Metro Manila; stress over traffic jams at 8 am; blame private vehicles for traffic congestion; and either make it just in time for my 9:15 am class or prepare an excuse to my professor when I arrive late.
This is not just my own experience; this is the reality of millions. And the Sisyphean feeling over this transport dilemma never goes away. Hence, the question lies: Is there any way to make our roads less congested, less punishing, and more dignified for commuters?
The most apparent reason for traffic congestion is the volume of cars hitting the road each day, and unfortunately, traveling in the National Capital Region (NCR) does not become any easier as more people migrate, with recent estimates placing NCR’s population at over 14 million.
In return, vehicle density spikes too, especially for private cars. Transportation analytics rank Manila among the most congested cities in the world, with average travel times for relatively short distances far exceeding the estimated average of traffic-efficient countries.
While the government is not idle on these issues, its decisions and actions are inconsistent and sporadic.
Recently, the Metropolitan Manila Development Authority called a ban on mall-wide sales during the Christmas season due to the traffic it generates. However, this does nothing to solve the problem, as it only shifts the blame onto the citizens and private entities rather than addressing key issues regarding infrastructure and planning.
Meanwhile, concrete developments like the EDSA Carousel show what a commuter-centered approach could achieve. Thousands use this dedicated bus lane daily, and it moves more people than cars ever will across the avenue. However, scaling its model to other major roads and improving the busway appear absent from policy discussions, with some politicians even suggesting phasing out the busway altogether instead of improving it. To make the situation worse, the majority of the bus routes that bring commuters in and out of the Metro still struggle on roads dominated by private vehicles.
Alternatively, major railway projects like the Metro Manila Subway, MRT-7, and the North-South Commuter Railway are promising ventures that allow individuals to traverse the capital quickly and car-free. However, these megaprojects take years and span up to decades, largely due to right-of-way acquisitions that place them in legal limbo, which puts the government in a dilemma as it tries to meet transport demands amid an ever-increasing population.
What should be done then is to not only focus on large-scale projects, but also place emphasis on relatively easy-to-implement systems and developments that prioritize public transportation and moving people efficiently, rather than encouraging people to buy more cars.
This means strengthening the public transportation system we already have: upgrading existing stations, expanding the Carousel model to other major roads, strictly enforcing dedicated lanes to keep troublemakers in check, and ensuring smooth connections between residential areas and transit hubs.
Finishing major railway projects as soon as possible and integrating them into the current system is also vital, as these are additional lifelines that would cater to the ever-increasing demand for transportation. This should be complemented with demand management policies that will gradually discourage car usage on critical roads, shifting the focus to a more people-oriented transportation system rather than one that prioritizes private vehicles.
Traffic is not a natural hazard; it is a result of ignorant policy choices.
Every hour is lost to gridlock, taken from workers, students, and families who could have allocated the time to more significant efforts. The real solution is neither more patience from commuters nor band-aid policies, but more awareness and urgency from those in power. Until the commuter, not the car, is made the priority, Metro Manila will remain suspended, not just in traffic, but in time.
