Metro Manila traffic is 2nd worst in the world—report

MANILA, Philippines—Metro Manila has the second-worst traffic congestion in the world, a report by location technology specialist TomTom (TOM2) showed.

In its Traffic Index 2019— a report detailing the traffic situation in 416 cities in 57 countries—TomTom said Metro Manila traffic took the second spot this year with drivers expecting to spend an average of 71 percent extra travel time stuck in traffic.

The Indian city of Bengaluru topped the 9th edition of the annual TomTom Traffic Index with also 71 percent congestion level.

The global average congestion level is 29 percent, TomTom said, adding that 57 percent of countries included in the study saw an increase in traffic congestion in 2019.

The study covered 306.4 million kilometers of roads in Metro Manila and revealed a 73 percent level of congestion for highways and 70 percent for non-highways.

According to the report, the best day for Metro Manila congestion last year was on April 19, Good Friday. The day had the lowest average daily congestion at 0 percent. Meanwhile, the worst day for Metro Manila traffic in 2019 was on August 16, a Friday.

TomTom also bared that Friday has the worst rush hour from 6 to 7 p.m.

“Travelling after 7 p.m. on Friday could save you up to 5 hours per year (for a 30-minute commute),” the report said.

All in all, the report claimed that for 230 working days in a year, 257 hours or 10 days and 17 hours was spent driving in rush hours.