SPEAKER Alan Peter Cayetano believes that congested roads in Metro Manila and other key urban centers in the country are signs the economy thrives — a product of success so to speak.
But reality check says otherwise, contrary to Cayetano’s narrative.
Take this as a grain of salt: Metro Manila commuters and motorists alike spend more than an hour, on average, in traffic every day.
This places Metro Manila as the 3rd worst in traffic in Southeast Asia.
This was among the findings of a recent survey conducted as part of a study commissioned by ride-sharing platform Uber.
The survey places Metro Manila 3rd worst in the region, with an average of 66 minutes stuck in traffic daily. It comes after Bangkok, Thailand, which is said to have the worst traffic (72 minutes), and 2nd worst Jakarta, Indonesia (68 minutes).
The best performers in terms of traffic are Singapore (30 minutes) and Hong Kong (35 minutes).
On top of the 66-minute traffic experience, drivers in Metro Manila also spend an average of 24 minutes per day searching for parking.
The bare truth is that traffic congestion in Metro Manila is caused by multiple causes.
Here are three of the most common: too many cars on the roadway, inadequate mass transit system, and too many obstacles on the road that translate to network overload.
And Cagayan de Oro is no exception to this traffic milieu.
Traffic in the city has long been a common headache of every Cagay-anon.
And it remains unclear until now how traffic hampers urban life and the city’s thriving economy.
Like Metro Manila, the increasing number of motor vehicles in the city could be the obvious culprit, taking into account the presence of so many car dealers in cutthroat competition.
Cayetano’s take of Metro Manila’s traffic mess is but a great escape from reality.
The ordinary commuter has a far greater view of what is really happening on the ground (ruffy44_ph2000@yahoo.com).
