The Hellish Traffic of Manila

By Apolinario Villalobos

Traveling around metro Manila has become hellish with all the upgrading of roads and construction of flyovers. The main thoroughfares such as EDSA, Taft and the expressways going to the north and south have virtually become parking areas of vehicles that move even slower than a snail. The sidestreets are not spared as they became the alternate routes.

Those who have scheduled flights should leave home at least 5 hours before check in time, not departure time.  Living near the airport cannot help much, because the issue here is the traffic, not the distance. Those with meetings should be within the vicinity of the venue much earlier than the decent allowable time, and just kill time over mugs of coffee in nearby cafes or  while time away window shopping in malls.

Taking the LRT and MRT can help, and suggested is to be at the train terminal three hours before the intended time at your destination, because of the long queue. Rush hours for the metro trains are between 6 and 8 in the morning, and between 4 and 7 in the evening. Not included here, are the “unscheduled” stops midway along the length of the suspended track due to system failure, for which the MRT has become notorious.

Metro Manila should be avoided by those who are planning to have leisurely vacation. But if they are not running after time, prepared for the hustles, and willing to waste time in the midst of the traffic, they can just go ahead.  They should just be ready to spend at least five hours sitting in the car or taxi, or stand in a bus throughout that length of time.  The worst problem, yet, is when they unfortunately encounter an arrogant and taxi driver who insists on contracted rate rather than using the meter. Another option is to add at least three days to the intended length of vacation, such that, vacation intended for five days, for instance, should be stretched to eight days. The  added three days should be treated as “traffic allowance”.

I have a friend who confided about his failure to be at the bedside of his father when he died of heart failure.  He got jammed in the traffic of EDSA when he hastily drove his car to the St. Luke’s Hospital in Quezon City when called by his panicking wife. By the time he arrived at the hospital, his father has been dead for four hours. He lives in Baclaran, and his mistake was driving his car instead of having a combined commute on MRT and taxi or jeepney which somehow could have lessened the travel time.

A seagoing friend missed his flight out for Hongkong where he was to board his ship for Europe. Eventually, he bought another ticket for the ship’s next port of call after it left Hongkong as scheduled. He’s thankful that his agency considered traffic as his reason for missing the flight, otherwise, he could have lost his job.

The simultaneous ongoing road projects in Manila promise comfort in about five years from now. From today then, the ever-resourceful Filipino will have his patience tested to the limit.