今日吃瓜

GRIDLOCK. The talk of traffic gridlock in the time of raging full-scale war in the Middle East with some forecasting dooms day scenarios, such as a long war of attrition that may slide into World War III, has somewhat dulled the conversation. Nevertheless, the daily occurrence of traffic congestion in Metro Manila (MM) and in Cebu, Davao and Baguio continues to be felt.

 

鈥�Don鈥檛 Waste A Crisis鈥� was a pivotal article this author wrote on May 10, 2020 where he urged that the temporary reduction in traffic during the COVID-19 pandemic was just the condition needed to implement the much-needed bus traffic reforms he advocated five years earlier. And true enough, the EDSA Busway was soon implemented amidst the pandemic crisis with great success.聽Now, traffic congestion in the country has once again reached crisis proportion in private car lanes, except on the EDSA Busway, such that it continues to impose severe economic loses, reduce productivity, degrade quality of life, and undermine national competitiveness.

 

A 2012-2014 study by JICA estimated that traffic congestion in MM cost the Philippine economy聽PhP2.4 Billion (B)聽in daily economic losses This figure has risen significantly over the years, with subsequent estimates indicating losses of聽PhP3.5B to PhP4.9B聽per day in 2018 鈥� 2023. This JICA ranking is consistent with TomTom鈥檚 dire online traffic survey of the country for 2022 and 2024.

 

Why does traffic congestion persist in our country? There are three major congestion management failures that fuel this problem. The first is the lack of an efficient mass transport system followed by a car-centric riding public, and the ineffective travel demand management where urgent and non-optional travel compete for the limited road space.

 

A commuter-centric policy聽was recently declared by PBBM This was in line with the National Transport Policy of NEDA in 2017. Car-centric policy was shunned aside, yet private cars still dominate in our roads and crowd out our finite road space for mass transit. The policy should be to move people, not vehicle, per road lane. Mass transport should be attractive enough to induce motorists to shift to it. Our road policy should not fall prey to induced demand where providing more urban road space for cars will be for naught as cars just fill up the new road as has often happened.

 

A well-managed mass transit network is the second imperative. Mass transit works well when commuters can conveniently walk into it from malls and offices. Last-mile destinations should be covered at easy transfer stations located nearby. Long feeder lines, such as those bisecting EDSA like Quezon Avenue, Roosevelt, D. Tuazon, Ortigas, Shaw, Ayala and SLEX are prime examples where trunk and feeder lines connections are needed.

 

Transport demand management is a strategy to reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicle travel leading to reduced road congestion. Commuters with optional travel times can switch their travel to off-peak hours or to avail of other modes of transport, such as biking and walking.聽 Other common methods can be employed, such as flexible work hours and congestion pricing, where vehicles are charged a fee, or commuters pay higher fares for travel allowance into congested zones during peak hours. Examples of cities using congestion charges are Singapore, London and Manhattan (NY).

 

A complete transport infrastructure system is required in metropolis, such as MM and other highly urbanized cities. This MAP author focused on the traffic problem after the great 鈥�8-hour carmageddon鈥� that paralyzed MM 10 years ago in 2015. At that time, bus traffic on EDSA was very chaotic and not reliable. This MAP author advocated the EDSA Busway during the MAP general membership meeting on August 26, 2015. This was implemented 5 years later in June 2020 by then DOTr Secretary Arthur Tugade.

 

Bus traffic from the two outermost lanes were transferred to the innermost lane alongside the MRT3 tracks. This gave authorities better control over the participating bus operators. Loading and unloading of commuters are done only in designated dedicated bus stations resulting in faster bus runs and quicker turn-arounds resulting in commuters arriving at their destinations at more predictable hours. The EDSA Busway restored order and discipline on previously chaotic bus traffic.

 

Total busway ridership from the EDSA Busway鈥檚 initiation in June 2020 to December 31, 2025 reached聽341,307,843聽passengers. One-day peak ridership of听454,649聽passengers was achieved on December 27, 2023. All this was accomplished with less than PhP1B in budgetary allocation, then equivalent to just less than a day of economic losses.

 

鈥�The Busway scheme is the most practical solution ever proposed in a long time to trying to put order in the EDSA traffic鈥�, observed former DPWH and DOTC Secretary Ping de Jesus. Such astonishing results demonstrated the efficacy of structural changes in traffic conditions. Yet, despite its great success, the EDSA Busway continues to suffer from severe budgetary constraints. Many of its dedicated passenger stations have not been completed. Large distances between stations and wrong-sided bus doors have compromised passenger safety, convenience and efficiency of bus operation.

 

The EDSA Busway is a good transport model that should be quickly replicated in other national roads, such as Commonwealth, Quezon Avenue and C5. Dedicated busway lanes on the median lane can be constructed, while existing overhead bridges can be retrofitted with stairs to the median busway stations.

On March 2, 2026, the MAP wrote PBBM to inform him of the dire traffic conditions gripping the country. Among the measures the MAP offered was the creation of the MM Transport Authority with an Administrator in charge. This would clearly place clear accountability implementing immediate and structural solutions to ensure a move-commuters, not move-vehicles, policy.

 

Traffic improvement can be sustained with the implementation of the following measures: 聽seamless inter-connection of the EDSA Busway and other such busway with MRT, LRT, implementation of the long-promised and much-awaited Pasig River Ferry System; improvement of the Mabuhay Lanes and other alternate routes; revamping traffic regulations, such as at the EDSA corner Ortigas intersection to allow more continuous flow of the very long Ortigas traffic; high occupancy vehicle (HOV) practices where 4 or more passengers shall have priority use of a dedicated lane along the busway; 聽no parking, loading and unloading areas, particularly in school zones; wider sidewalks along major national roads, such as those being laudably constructed by DPWH Secretary Vince Dizon for walking and biking lanes; resiliency against floods during the typhoon season of national roads; and the construction of parking buildings, particularly at transport hubs.

 

The completion of big-ticket projects of the government will greatly help sustain the traffic improvement. They are the Grand Common Train Station, Clark to Manila and Calamba commuter railway; Pasig River Ferry System and a Ro-Ro Ferry ship system at the mouth of Manila Bay to serve as a bypass to the problematic traffic along C5, pending completion of the proposed Cavite-Bataan bridge.

 

Indeed, the MAP believes that, with strong political will, traffic congestion in MM can be solved.

 

(The author is Chair of the 今日吃瓜 (MAP) Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He is the Honorary Chairman of Clairmont Group. Feedback at <map@map.org.ph> and <edyap2@gmail.com>).