Cebuanos agree city worst place in world for drivers

ROAD CONGESTION in Metro Cebu is aggravated by the state of disrepair of some of the city’s streets, like Sanciangko shown here, where potholes turn walking or driving into a game akin to Minecraft. LITO TECSON/CEBU DAILY NEWS

It used to take Karl Asane an hour to drive from his home in Talisay City to his office here, and back, every day. Now, heavy traffic has extended his travel time to two hours and 30 minutes, especially during rush hour.

When he drives at 2 a.m., when the road is practically empty, he reaches home in just 20 minutes.

Asane, 25, a Waze user who works as a claims specialist of a business process outsourcing firm, agrees with the recent survey conducted by the navigation app that Cebu City was the worst place in the world to be a driver. It was at the bottom among 186 cities included in Waze’s second annual Driver Satisfaction Index.

Compared to Manila, Cebu City’s driving conditions are worse because the roads are narrower, Asane said. Traffic rules are also better implemented in Manila, where pedestrian pathways are marked.

Another Waze user, blogger Doyzkie Buenaviaje, said that while the survey’s results were based on the app’s functionality and efficacy and only a few users reported actual vehicle buildup in Metro Cebu, traffic is still bad.

“I drive almost everyday from Mactan (Island) to Cebu City. That means passing through Mandaue City as well. In a day, driving from Lapu-Lapu City to Cebu City would cost me two hours one-way if traffic is at its worst, which is about 30 to 50 minutes at an average of 40 kilometers per hour, when there’s light to moderate moving traffic,” Buenviaje said.

Lack of discipline makes traffic in Cebu bad. No clear stops for vehicles and no proper bay for alighting passengers.

“Everyone (stops) just about anywhere to pick up or drop off passengers on our narrow roads. Pedestrians crossing anywhere they please also adds to the problem,” Buenaviaje said.

The survey results should serve as a wake-up call to address the pressing traffic problem of the city, he added.

Lawyer Rafael Yap, head of the Cebu City Transportation Office, said the traffic congestion was an offshoot of the city’s economic progress that allowed affordability for residents to buy more cars and motorcycles.

Unfortunately, he added, the transportation and traffic infrastructure had not kept pace with the growth in vehicular traffic.

Yap said some index information were missing to possibly correct Cebu City’s rating in the Waze survey. He said his office was ramping up apprehensions with the hiring of more traffic personnel and the purchase of more equipment.

“We are working with the Department of Transportation to improve our public transportation and traffic infrastructure through the introduction of the Cebu Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project,” he said. The BRT is a specialized and dedicated bus system that is envisioned to replace the jeepneys  in some major thoroughfares in the city to ease traffic.

The proposed third bridge to connect Mactan Island to Cebu mainland will ease coastal roads of Cebu going to Cordova and Lapu-Lapu City, Yap said.

Cebu City Mayor Tomas Osmeña said that while he believes in the results of the survey, he blamed the previous administration for blocking the construction of flyovers and failing to replace obsolete traffic signal lights.