manila traffic

I will never get used to Metro Manila's traffic jams.

It took me 2 1/2 hours to commute from Quezon City to Bicutan tonight. It was not even raining hard and the bus I was on took the Skyway already. Two and a half hours - about the same amount of time it takes a mid-day bus to get from QC to Batangas.

I don't mind long bus rides if I'm traveling long distances. But to sit for hours in a bus that barely moves along EDSA is torture for me. I feel fortunate that I do not have to endure this torture everyday like the thousands of Metro Manila commuters.

After my 2 1/2 hour bus ride, standing in the rain waiting for yet another ride

Sitting sadly in the bus tonight I was reminded of what one tour guide said about Metro Manila traffic. We were in Hongkong that time on a city tour and Mr. Lee, our guide, was explaining that we might be a little late getting to our next destination on account of the rush hour traffic. I remember smiling and looking out the window as cars zipped past at 35 kph. That was rush hour traffic - cars just moving a little slower than the usual 80 kph.



Mr. Lee was right to say that Hongkong's traffic system is a little better than Manila's. He loved visiting the Philippines for vacations but had to shake his head at the Metro Manila traffic where you can sit in a bus, have a two-hour nap and not be afraid of missing your stop. When you wake up from the nap you're probably still in the same place anyway.


Even Lonely Planet's Tony Wheeler agrees that Manila's traffic jams are to be reckoned even beating out Bangkok. Although he does add that Shanghai still wins for the worst traffic jams (Tony Wheeler's World Worsts in The Titanic Awards).


I suppose there are still a couple of good things about traffic jams. I can attribute my love for walking to traffic since at times walking takes me to my destination faster than taking a jeepney. On occasions that I do need to take a jeepney the hour-long commutes present an opportunity for me to catch up on my reading. And of course, stuck in traffic one learns to appreciate the empty spaces and open roads of a provincial setting