DOTr chief vows lasting solutions to traffic woes

Heavy traffic is seen along EDSA in Pasay City. INQUIRER FILE PHOTO / RICHARD A. REYES

The Department of Transportation (DOTr) said that Metro Manila taking the top ranking among areas with the worst traffic in the world poses a challenge for the agency to solve.

According to a statement of Transport Secretary Jaime Bautista on Friday, this was a challenge for the department to look for “creative and lasting solutions” to traffic.

Manila currently holds the “world’s worst traffic in metro area” title.

“The top ranking of Metro Manila in world traffic poses a challenge not just for DOTr, but other agencies as well to be creative at finding lasting solutions to metro traffic,” the statement said.

The traffic index of the TomTom International BV, a location technology company, said that Metro Manila topped 387 cities worldwide, which were ranked in terms of metro area traffic.

Average travel time for 10 kilometers in the metropolitan area would take 25 minutes and 30 seconds, the index said.

On Friday, Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) Chair Romando Artes said that “We admit that traffic is congested in Metro Manila, and we know it,” adding the volume of vehicles is the “number one problem” behind the decades-old traffic congestion in the capital region.

Artes said the “odd-even” and other traffic schemes designed to reduce vehicles on the road by 25 percent could not be fully implemented since not all roads can be monitored by the MMDA personnel and local government enforcers.

Artes enumerated general and specific proposals to reduce traffic congestion, such as deploying covers to keep kibitzers from slowing down to take photos and videos of accidents. INQ