Rains, mall sale, stalled cars trigger Edsa carmageddon

Traffic situation on the southbound lane of Edsa as of 8 p.m. Friday Oct.  13, 2017. PHOTO/Nestor Corrales

Rainy Friday 13^th, rush hour, pay day, mall mega sale – and what do we get? Carmageddon!

Many motorists on late Friday afternoon found themselves stuck for hours on Edsa, with most complaining on social media that the highway has turned into a virtual parking lot.

As the rains and mall sale combined to generate mammoth traffic jam, a number of vehicular accidents and stalled cars were reported in many parts of Edsa and other major thoroughfares, aggravating the woes of people heading home.

Travel time from SM Mall of Asia in Pasay City to Edsa-Ayala took almost two hours, some passengers who were caught in traffic told INQUIRER.net.

During the downpour in Pasay and Makati, commuters jostled for a bus ride. Buses were mostly packed like sardines while hundreds were stranded with their feet soaked in flooded streets.

Ortigas traffic as of 8 p.m./PHOTO/Tetch Torres-Tupas

Commuters who took the Metro Rail Transit (MRT-3) had to endure long lines before getting into the train.

The Metropolitan Manila Development Authority (MMDA) said traffic in many parts of the National Capital Region was heavy to standstill as of Friday evening.

Traffic alerts from MMDA on Friday evening gave a picture of the traffic chaos plauging many parts of NCR.